High School of Rock
by Zzyzx4
Summary: Years after the School of Rock has broken up, the find someone who just might be able to rock hard enough to bring their spirits back. Throw in some teenage angst and bam! You got their brand new high school experience.
1. From the Ashes

_**Hey guys, this is it. My actual School of Rock fanfic. Like I said before, this will be based on the movie, not the show. I will be using certain elements from the show such as: characters, locations, and anything else I think would work here. But for now, let's get started.**_

* * *

It has been four years since School of Rock has formed and played at Battle of the Bands. Dewey Finn had moved away years ago and the kids were all starting high school now. They had had a few gigs since Battle of the Bands, but not alot and with Dewey leaving, they pretty much consider the band to be over. Or at least, that's what they thought.

* * *

Zack was walking to school, still very tired from little sleep and waking up early. He had his headphones in his ears and wasn't really paying attention to anything around him. It wasn't until he felt someone tap his shoulder that he turned back into reality. He turned his head and saw Freddy Jones walking beside him, holding his skateboard. "Oh, hey Freddy." He said, perking up almost immediately.

"Sup Mooneyham? You seem tired as Hell." He asked, in his usual cocky voice.

"Didn't get a lot of sleep last night, that's all." Zack told him.

"I get it man, You stoked for high school?"

"Yeah, I guess." He said with a sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"I think I'm just a little nervous that's all."

"I would be to. You know, if it weren't for all this." He said gesturing to himself. Zack laughed a little bit and looked into Freddy's eyes. "Do I have something on my face?" Freddy asked.

"Oh, no. Sorry." Zack said looking away in embarrassment. Zack knew he liked Freddy, but he knew it couldn't work. Freddy's dated a lot of different girls. The two of them arrived at school and parted ways.

* * *

Katie sat in her desk, waiting for class to start when she saw someone familiar walk in. She couldn't put a name to the gorgeous face she saw, but then it hit her. "Frankie?" She said standing up.

"How's it hanging Beautiful?" He asked as the two of them hugged. Frankie worked security for their band, making sure they weren't caught. He had gone to a different middle school then the rest of them, but still kept in contact, being Freddy's best friend. She heard he'd lost weight, but **damn** did he look cute.

"It's so good to see you. How have you been?"

"Pretty good as you can see. I'm so glad to be back with you guys. And that I can finally look you in the eyes." They shared a laugh and sat down in the seat next to her.

* * *

"Tomika, come on." Lawrence pleaded, walking into the school with her.

"No, I'm not pressing that button." She told him walking ahead of him.

"Please, I promise you'll like it." He said holding a box with a button on it.

"Ugh, fine." She groaned and pushed the button. Nothing happened. "Wow, what a pleasant surprise! Nothing." She said sarcastically. He looked curiously at the box when it exploded intp feathers in his face. Tomika tried to keep herself from laughing, but to little avail.

"Marco said it might backfire." He said to himself.

"Just stick to what you're good at Larry." She said walking off.

* * *

Summer was texting Michelle and Eline when she noticed someone else in her class. He looked too old to be freshman. She kept looking trying to figure out what he's doing in this class when he spoke up. "Take a picture it'll last longer." He said annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just wondering why you're in a freshman class. And where the teacher is, now that I think about it."

"Well, you're looking him." He responded, with a thick Japanese accent now present.

"Wait, **you're** the teacher? But you look so young."

"Thank you."

"Why aren't you doing any teaching?"

"It's too early."

"Well, school started ten minutes ago."

"And I'm tired. Who else is tired?" He asked the class and everyone raised their hands. He looked over at Summer who slowly put her hand up. "There you go. If you can't be honest to yourself, who can you be honest to?" He said getting up. "Now, instead of butchering all of your names, I'm just gonna pass the roster around and you check yourself in. My name in Chiaki Tani and I just moved to America a few months ago. Pleased to be here." _This is going to be an interesting class I can tell._ Summer thought.

* * *

Later at lunch, Katie was going about something to Zack, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. Freddy was across the quad doing different tricks on his skateboard in front of a large group of girls, though it was having a bigger effect on him. "Zack? Zack?" Gordon snapped his fingers in front of his face. He blinked and looked at his two best friends staring at him.

"Sorry guys, I guess my minds somewhere else." He told them.

"It's fine, so are you actually going to eat or just check out Freddy all day?" Katie asked.

"W-what? Freddy? Freddy Jones? That's rich Kate….is it that obvious?"

"Yes." Gordon answered immediately.

"Why don't you just talk to him?" Katie asked.

"I'll have you know, I talked to him this morning."

"I think she means 'tell him you like him' genius." Gordon berated.

"How well do you think that'll go over? I like that he's willing to talk to me right now."

"And you think he won't after because…?" Katie asked.

"It'll just complicate things ok? You two are the only ones that know I'm gay, I'd like to keep that circle small if you don't mind."

"Dude, we won't tell anyone. But you need to tell Freddy eventually." Gordon told him.

"I know," Zack said with a sigh.

* * *

Freddy finished showing off and sat down to eat. Some of the girls were trying to talk to him, but he was tuning them all out. He was just glad that a certain brunette had been watching. He'd dated most of girls that he went to middle school with, so imagine his surprise when he found himself thinking of Zack as being cute.

* * *

"I think I know what went wrong," Marco said looking at his dismantled feather bomb. "Tomika, when you pushed the button, did you push it straight down or at an angle?" He asked.

"Angle," She answered not looking up from her book.

"There you go. It didn't fully register, so there was delay." He explained to Lawrence. Lawrence answered with a nod.

"Hey Lawrence, how's your black belt coming along?" Marta asked, walking up with Alicia next to her. Lawrence had begun taking Karate in middle school. He was actually pretty toned now. He also had contacts instead of glasses.

"Not there yet, but I'm getting close. I can practically feel it." He told them.

* * *

Summer was eating with Leonard. They hooked up near the end of last year and were still going strong. "I'm telling you, he reminds me of Dewey." She told him, finishing her story about her new teacher Chiaki.

"Man, I miss him. Easily the best teacher we ever had."

"That's not the point of my story." She complained. Afterwards, the two of them heard what sounded like guitar playing and followed the noise. They rounded the corner to find Summer's teacher playing a song and shared a surprised look.

" _Baby we was making straight A's_

 _But we were stuck in a dumb daze_

 _Doesn't take too much to memorize your lines_

 _I feel like I've been hypnotisized"_

"That's our song. Or Zack's song." Leonard said in awe. Summer texted everyone from the band (except for Michelle and Eleni who had gone to a different school). All over the school, the various band members saw Summer's message on their phones and ran towards where she was. All of them stayed behind the wall as the new teacher finished playing the song.

" _This is my final exam_

 _Now you all know who I am_

 _I might not be that perfect son_

 _But y'all be rockin' when I'm done"_

When he finished playing the song, he turned and saw all of the teens had been watching him. "How long have you kids been standing there?" He asked, trying to act innocent.

"The whole time." Freddy told him.

"Ok, you caught me," He said taking a deep breath. "I'm really into School of Rock. The whole reason I came here to teach was because I was hoping to meet them, but they've dropped off the radar completely. It's like after Battle of the Bands, they just stopped." He said, looking disappointed.

"Their rhythm guitarist/lead singing left." Summer told him.

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"Cause I wrote that song you were singing." Zack piped up, stepping forward. Chiaki looked at them all, puzzled a first, before his eyes went wide with shock.

"No, it can't be." He said. Zack held his hand out and Chiaki cautiously handed him his guitar. Zack took in a deep breath and then played his solo from the song he wrote and then gave the guitar back to Summer's teacher. The older man stood there with his jaw hanging open at what he just saw. "It...it is you! You're them! I mean, they're you! This is...this is just….wow." He leaned against the wall, putting a hand to his forehead. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you here."

"Believe it baby." Freddy said smugly.

"Man, I wish you guys were still playing."

"We do too, but we would need a new rhythm guitarist that loves rock just as much as Dewey Finn." Katie said.

"Well, I think I know a guy." Chiaki said with a smile.

"You do? That's great, where is he?" Freddy asked, excited. Everyone looked at him judgingly. "Oh, you meant you. Yeah, I knew that. I was just making sure everyone else did too." He said, laughing nervously. Summer shook her head.

"Billy, text Michelle and Eleni. Tell them to update the blog, because School of Rock's coming back." All of them started cheering and jumping.

"Uhh, Zack?" Freddy asked after calming down and realizing that Zack had started hugging him.

"Got a little too excited, sorry." He said letting go.

"Don't be," Freddy said pulling him back into the hug, much to Zack's surprise. "I'm excited too man!"

"I'm in?" Chiaki asked Summer.

"Duh," He started to shake.

"Excuse me for a minute students." He walked behind the wall where they could all clearly hear him cheering. "Sorry, you were saying Summer?"

"You're in the band."

"I know, I just wanted you to say it again."

* * *

The group walked back out into to quad where they could already overhear many students talking about School of Rock's announcement. "Alright everyone, hope you kept your instruments. Cause we got practice tomorrow. Meet in Mr. Tani's room after school." Summer told the band. School of Rock was back, and this time, they're going to straight to the top.

* * *

 _ **There you have it, the first chapter. I actually don't know how long this series is going to be, but I do have plenty of ideas. Mostly character driven rather than story focused, but I'll figure out something soon I guarantee it. I'll try to update this weekly, just a heads up. Until next time, bye y'all.**_


	2. Set Up

Freddy and Zack walked into the school the next morning excited. Neither of them could get to sleep last night because of them agreeing to start the band back up the day before. In fact, that's all either of them could talk about on the over.

"I can't believe we really found someone to join." Freddy said, clearly showing his enthusiasm.

"I know, this is going to be great." Zack looked down at his watch to see that they still had twenty-five minutes left before school started. "Hey, we still got some extra time. Do you wanna just hang?" He asked nervously.

"Definitely! I mean, sure bro." The two of them sat down on the steps of the school entrance and looked up into the morning sky. "Damn, it's getting so hot lately. And right after it started to cool down. Aren't we supposed to nearing fall?"

"It does that every year. Freak heat wave right at the end of summer." Zack told him. Freddy was right however, it was getting hotter as the days went by. Zack didn't mind though, he actually liked it better when it was warmer. Just not **this** much warmer.

"What do you think our first gig's going to be?" Freddy asked shifting the conversation back to the band.

"I have no idea. Summer said she'd be on the look-out starting today." Zack told him. The two fell into a silence that lasted far too long for their liking. So Zack decided to speak up. "Hey Freddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I've wanted to ask you something for awhile now, but I guess I didn't really know how you'd respond." Zack's breathing started to get hard and he could feeling his heart beating like crazy.

"What's up?" Freddy asked becoming nervous as well, though he hid it better.

"...I…..was just uhh, wondering, you know, if uhhhh….." His could his face turning red. Brick red to be exact. Other kids were beginning to show up. _This is it Zack, do or die time!_ "Freddy, would you like to-"

"You know, I just remembered I promised I'd meet Frankie on the other side of the school. We'll talk later, cool?" The drummer interrupted before hopping on his skateboard and taking off through the school. Zack let out a long breath.

Zack was sweating non stop after the event that just took place. _What the Hell are you doing Jones?_ He asked himself. _Go back there and hear him out. That was definitely important, so go back and listen to him!_ He wouldn't turn back, his body wouldn't listen to his head. Before he could think of something else, he ran right into an opened door and fell on his back. He sat up groaning and rubbing his back. "Who put that door there?" He asked himself out loud.

"Sorry about that." He looked up and saw Summer and Chiaki standing in the hall.

"Nah, I should've paid attention to what was in front of me."

"And it's against the rules to ride that inside." Summer told him, pointing at his board.

"Whatever," He picked it up and walked past them down the hall.

"So, you said you got something?" Chiaki asked his student.

"I said, I found something. We don't have it yet. I don't want to tell the others and get their hopes up."

"Then don't tell me, I'm terrible with secrets." He told her.

"Right."

"Ok, tell me, I'm dying!"

"The mayor's daughter's birthday is at the end of this month. She's our age, so I was going to see if I can get the band as entertainment.

"That's a good one. If it goes well, it'll definitely put you guys back on the map!"

"You mean us, Mr. Tani." She corrected him.

"I still can't believe you all let me in."

"Well, we'll see if that was a good decision today after school." She taunted walking into his classroom.

* * *

"What? No crazy invention from Marco today?" Tomika asked, walking the halls with Lawrence to their first class.

"Nope. He said he needed more time to work out all the kinks in it." He explained.

"Good, I need a stress free morning." She said with a sigh of relief. "So, how was karate yesterday?" She asked him.

"So good. I still can't believe how quickly I got to red."

"Is that why you told Marta and Alicia you're close to black?" She asked him.

"Well yeah, it's only a matter of time at this point." He couldn't help but smile.

* * *

"After you," Frankie said, opening the door for Katie to walk in.

"Why, thank you." She said as the both laughed.

"You know, I've been thinking," He began as they walked to their desks.

"You have changed." She snickered.

"Cute. But I was wondering, would you maybe want to go out this Saturday?" He asked her.

"I would say, 'in a heartbeat.'" She said smiling at him.

"Really?" He looked surprised and ecstatic at the same time.

"I'm just glad you asked early, instead of drawing it out." She told him.

"Yeah, that'd be the worst." He commented.

* * *

Freddy shared his second period class with Zack and of course decided to sit next to him, so naturally, he was hesitant about walking inside after he ran from him this morning. But he knew that not going was a worse decision. He slowly pulled open the door to the almost full classroom, including Zack who was distracted by his phone. Freddy took a deep breath and marched over to his desk and sat down as calm as he could. Zack looked over and his eyes went wide. Freddy couldn't tell what emotion his face was conveying, until Zack flashed him his usual shy smile which helped the drummer calm down.

"Hey," Zack said.

"Uh, hey," Freddy smile back at him. "Listen, sorry about this morning. What were you trying to say?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if uhh….you wanted to eat lunch with me today?" He got out with his eyes trained on the floor. Freddy blushed at first, good thing Zack was looking away.

"Yeah," He said with his voice cracking. "I mean, yes. I'd like that." He told him after fixing his voice.

"Really? Cool," Zack said looking back at Freddy, the color in his face returning to normal. The rest of class went by as normal. The two had history class together, a subject that both of them shared an interest in.

* * *

Gordon sat in his math class and saw his phone light up in his hand and took a look at it once the teacher looked away. It was a text from Zack.

Z: Hey tell Katie that I'm going to be eating lunch with Freddy today. Yes, I'll try to tell him that I like him.

G: I hope so man. It's rare that he's actually single, so you need to jump on that.

He forwarded the message to Katie to keep her in the loop and then looked up to see his teacher looking down at him with his phone in his hands. He smiled innocently at first before she held out her hand and he begrudgingly handed it over.

* * *

Zack, put his phone away after texting Gordon. What he didn't know was that Freddy was reading over his shoulder and read the words, "I'll try to tell him that I like him." And became overwhelmed reading Zack's own text confirming his feelings. Now, he was really looking forward to lunch.

* * *

Later at lunch everyone was in their own social group, with the band sitting closer than before. Zack and Freddy, however were sitting away from most other students. _Ok Jones. No running this time. You know more now then you did this morning, just let him say what he needs to._ "Hey Freddy," Zack started.

"Me too! I mean, yeah?" He said with a nervous laugh. _Smooth._

"I've wanted to tell you something for awhile now. Since middle school actually, but you were always dating another girls each week it seemed. I don't know what you're going to say to this, but if I don't tell you, I'll hate myself forever. You're one of my best friends so I hope you understand."

"Zack," Freddy stood up pulling Zack to his feet as well. The two looked each other in the eye, with Zack being taller by an inch or two. "Whatever you need to say, you can tell me. I promise I'll understand."

"Ok. Freddy, I'm gay. And I also like you. I mean I **really** like you." He said while taking hard breaths. Freddy smiled, since he knew that was coming and Zack would certainly not be disappointed. He pulled the shaking boy before him into a tight hug, before placing his hand on the back of Zack's head and kissing him full on the lips. Upon pulling apart, Freddy saw Zack with his jaw hanging open.

"I've felt the same way for awhile now." He'd never seen Zack smile so big in his entire life. "So, when's the date?" Freddy asked, with his cocky tone returning to his voice. Zack giggled before cupping Freddy's face and pulling him into another kiss.

* * *

After school, the band brought all their instruments to Mr. Tani's classroom and moved all the desks to make room. It was a huge weight off their backs knowing they didn't have to keep their band a secret like when they were kids. "Ok, Mr. Tani, time to show us what you got besides covering our song." Summer told him, ready to judge.

"Prepare to be impressed. And you can call me Chiaki outside of school." He told the teens before picking up his guitar and began to play a song. "Just so you all know, I wrote this last night."

" _Stop telling me to read between the lines_

 _It all adds up to one thing_

 _(five, four, three, two, one)_

 _If you think you're gonna lose your cool_

 _Or sometimes you're gonna break the rules_

 _Hey show me what you know, give it up to rock and roll_

 _Cause we ain't gonna stop_

 _If you feel like you're getting schooled_

 _There's an answer right in front of you_

 _Hey show me what you know_

 _Give it up to rock and roll_

 _Cause we ain't gonna stop_

 _Are you ready to rock?!"_

The band looked amongst each other each other before nodding and applauding the new teacher. "Alright, you passed the final test. Welcome to School of Rock, Chiaki." Summer told him, shaking his hand. "I trust you'll be able to watch over things?" She questioned.

"You can count on me." He told her.

"Where are you off to?" Billy asked Summer as she headed for the door.

"I guess it's time I tell you all. The mayor's daughter's birthday is coming up this month. I'm going to go pull some strings to try to get School of Rock as the entertainment." Everyone looked surprised before giving Summer their silent approval. She then took her leave and left them there to freshen up on their playing.


	3. Karate Bros

"Ms. Hatheway, the mayor will see you now." The assistant told Summer in the hallway. Summer got up excitingly and walked into his office.

"Oh hello Summer. How's your father?" The mayor asked her. Her father worked closely with the mayor, so she'd known him since she was very young.

"He's fine thank you for asking. "

"If you wanted to speak with me, you didn't have to go through the trouble of scheduling like this."

"I'm aware and I thank you, but I wanted to do this as a professional. I understand that Kale's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I believe that I have the perfect group to provide the entertainment."

"Do you now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As you may know, a few years ago my class and I formed a band and participated in The Battle of the Bands. While we didn't win, we did win over the crowd. A few days ago, we decided to come back together. I was thinking, that School of Rock would be perfect for Kale's fifteenth birthday party."

"I see," He said before falling silent in thought. "I'll let you know." He told her. She nodded and exited his office. She was picked up outside by her mother.

"How did it go sweetheart?" She asked.

"Well...he didn't say no. He said he'll let me know." She said, half disappointed.

* * *

Zack was sitting in his room doing his homework when he got a text from Freddy.

F: _Hey babe, is it ok to call you that? It's totally fine if you don't want me to. Anyways, my mom's giving me a ride to school tomorrow. Do you wanna ride with us?_

Z: _Go ahead. I actually can't wait to hear it in person. But I'm fine with walking._

F: _Ok, I'll see you tomorrow at school then. Babe._

Zack smiled to himself and was about to go back to working when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in," He called. The door opened and his older brother Ashton walked in. Zack became slightly annoyed. "What do you want Ash?"

"What, I just wanna talk." He told him. Zack looked at him curiously. "Look, I just have a question."

"Ok, what's up?" He asked him. Now he was starting to worry. Ashton always picks on Zack for the smallest things.

"So, a couple of my friends saw something pretty interesting today. They told they saw you eating alone with that Jones kid." Zack swallowed hard. "And they said you two were...kissing. Is this true?" Zack looked terrified. There was reason he hadn't told Ashton his was gay.

"I...I…" He couldn't think of a reason that wouldn't sound like a terrible lie.

"Come on. You can tell me." He said, sitting on the edge of Zack's bed. "Zack, you're gay aren't you?" Zack's shot wide. He covered his mouth and was breathing hard through his nose. He couldn't for any words and just started nodding sporadically. Ashton sat closer and put his arm around his little brother. "Hey, hey, it's ok. You know, to be honest I always thought you were anyways. Remember how surprised I was when you dated Michelle for awhile?" Zack looked surprised that this was happening. He thought that if Ashton found him out he would kick his ass for sure, but instead he was actually comforting him. "But did out have to choose Freddy? You know the kind of reputation he has."

"Hey, he's changed." Zack told him.

"If you say so," Ashton got up and headed for the door. "Later dweeb," He chuckled and left. Zack laughed a little and went back to his work.

* * *

The next morning, Lawrence arrived at school just as Tomika was dropped off by her mom. "Hey Tomik," Hey said running up to her.

"Morning Larry, how's it going?" She asked, yawning.

"Guess what?" He asked her, excited.

"It's too early for guessing, can't you just tell me?" She asked, walking past him and heading inside the school.

"Ok, ok. Tonight, I may be in line to get my black belt!" He told her, jumping up and down.

"Really? That's great Larry! I'm really happy for you." As they were talking, Zack walked in and continued past them. "Hey, you should invite Zack to come watch."

"Oh, Zack. Um...I don't think he'd be interested in coming." He said, hesitantly.

"Really? I would think he'd really enjoy that." She told him.

"Well, you know...he's busy and everything."

"You're still not talking to him, are you?" She asked. He looked away from her confirming her guess. "You know, he doesn't blame you. You can still be friends with him." Lawrence, instead of talking to her, walked off towards his first class.

* * *

"Please tell me you told him yesterday." Gordon said as he and Zack walked to class.

"Of course I did. What reason would I have to not?" Zack asked him.

"You're a wuss?" Gordon suggested to which he got a slap on the shoulder. "So, what did he say?"

"Well…" Zack thought back to the kiss. Freddy's kiss. "Ok, ready for this? He said that he actually likes me too. And he even kissed me."

"Seriously? That's awesome dude! So, are you two official or what?"

"I don't know. I don't think so." _He called me 'Babe.'_

"Well, at least you're out to him." The bell rang over their heads. "Guess we should get to class."

* * *

Freddy was rushing through the halls of the school. _Crap, late again. My teacher's gonna kill me!_ "Freddy!" He heard a girl's voice shout at him. An all too familiar voice. He turned around to see the face of Taylor. One of his ex's from middle school and easily the most obsessed one too.

"What do you want?" He asked, annoyed.

"I saw you yesterday." Her high pitched voice accused. At least, Freddy thought she was accusing him of something.

"Well yeah, we have third period together." He told her.

"Not what I meant. I meant I saw you with that Mooneyham kid. So what? You like boys now? Couldn't you have at least picked one that was better looking to fill out you little phase with?" Freddy's clenched his fists so hard his knuckles began to turn white.

"Piss off Taylor, I'm already late." He spat, before turning around and continued to his class.

"Just you wait Freddy Jones, you'll be mine again soon." She said to herself with a smile.

* * *

Katie and Frankie were talking all throughout first period. Mostly about the band, home stuff, and so on. When class got out, Frankie continued to walk with Katie to her locker. "So, did you hear about Freddy?" He asked.

"What about him?" She asked.

"Everyone's been saying they saw him kissing a guy yesterday." He told her.

"Freddy didn't tell you?" She asked him surprised.

"Tell me what?" He seem confused.

"That was Zack he kissed. Zack's liked him for awhile and he said that when he told Freddy yesterday, Freddy responded by kissing him." She explained.

"Freddy didn't tell me he liked dudes. I thought he dated bunch girls back in middle school."

"He did, but I guess he likes guys too. Or at least Zack."

"You're pretty close to Zack right? Did you know?" He asked.

"Of course, he told both me and Gordon that he was gay after he broke up with Michelle." Frankie began to think, why didn't Freddy tell him? Did he not trust him? Were they not best friends anymore? "Well, I'll catch up with you later." She said with a wink.

"Uh, yeah." He said waving goodbye.

* * *

Later at lunch, Frankie was still thinking about it while Freddy was trying to talk to him. "Frankie?" Freddy asked, waving his hand in front of his face. "Are you there?"

"What? Sorry man, spaced out."

"No biggie. Anyways, do you think Summer got us the gig? I can't stop thinking about it." He said, excited.

"Right? This'll have to put you guys back into the public eye."

"You too, man. Just cause you're not in the band, doesn't mean you're not _in_ the band. We couldn't have gotten this off the ground with you and Leonard watching our backs."

"I guess you're right." Frankie smiled, feeling better before he remembered he was talking to Freddy. "Hey, how come you didn't tell me you like Zack?" He asked him.

"Huh?"

"Katie told me that Zack told her and Gordon his secret. I thought we were best friends, why didn't you tell me?" He asked again.

"We are, I just...didn't know how to tell you. I spent the last three years telling you all about a bunch of different girls, I guess I was scared of how you might react to me saying I was into a guy." Freddy told him, scratching the back of his head.

"Dude, I don't care what you put in your mouth, we're bros. Bros stand by each other." Freddy smiled.

"So, you and Katie?" Freddy teased.

"We're just going on a date this weekend, that's all." Frankie tried to explained.

"Uh-huh, suuuuurrrrre."

"Oh shut up!"

* * *

"Just talk to him, Larry." Tomika edged on.

"No. He wouldn't want to talk to me anyways."

"Hey guys," Lawrence turned his head and saw Zack standing behind him. "What're you talking about?" He asked.

"Nothing-" Lawrence started to say.

"Lawrence might be getting his black belt tonight." Tomika interrupted, resulting in a death glare from Lawrence.

"Really? That's awesome dude!" Zack congratulated him.

"Uh, thanks. No big deal or anything." Lawrence said, trying to subtly hint that he wanted Zack to leave.

"No dude, super big deal! I'm just happy you invited me to come watch." Tomika told him. Lawrence looked at her and started shaking his head. "Say Zack? Would you like to go?" She asked.

"Um, I would love to. If that's ok with you Lawrence?" He asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great." He said through gritted teeth, not breaking eye contact with the girl across from him.

"Cool, thanks. I'll see you both tonight then." He said walking away.

"Look what you made me do!" Lawrence said once Zack was out of earshot.

"Yeah, I made you talk to him. Boo Hoo." Tomika shot back.

"You know why I can't be friends with him."

"No. I know why you want to avoid him and I'm sick of it. You're going to talk it out with him."

"Fine," Lawrence said, caving in.

* * *

After school, the band had gotten together and were practicing on their instruments when Summer walked in. Everyone looked over to her, waiting for her to tell them the news. "The mayor said he'll call me." She told them.

"Not the worst thing that he could've said." Chiaki piped up. "Now everyone, back to practice." He said, shifting his attention towards the class.

"Billy, we need you to make outfits. Can you do it?" Summer asked.

"Does a mall babe eat chili fries?" He asked rhetorically. Summer looked back at him confused.

"That's bad 90's for yes." Chiaki said from the other side of the room.

"Could've just said that." She said, walking away.

* * *

Lawrence and Tomika were waiting for Lawrence's mom or dad to pick them up outside of the school to go to Lawrence's karate tournament when Zack came running up to them. "Sorry I'm late, Freddy had something to show me."

"It's fine, our rides not even hear yet." Tomika told him.

"Thanks for saying I could come Lawrence," Zack said, walking closer to him.

"Don't mention it," He muttered turning away. His parents showed up a minute later and picked the three of them up. It was a very awkward car ride, with mostly silence and stares between the three. They were dropped off and walked inside the building. Tomika and Zack found their seats while Lawrence left to change. The first few rounds went by before it came down to Lawrence's turn. He stepped up and and took his stance. He looked back up at Zack and Tamika and saw Zack wave at him. He scowled and looked away, before just blocking a an attack, but was quickly tripped buy his opponent. The point was called as he got back up.

"Come on Lawrence, you can do this!" Zack called out. Lawrence looked back up at him before turning his attention back to his match. His opponent was attacking fast, Lawrence was finding it difficult to block everything, but he saw an opening and took that quick moment to strike. He forced his palm against his opponents stomach and pushed him back and tripped him over.

"Is Lawrence mad at me for something?" Zack asked Tomika.

"He better not be." She said quietly.

"What?"

"I mean, he shouldn't be. Why don't you talk to him?" She suggested.

"Well, I've been trying to. He just seems so distant." He said with a pout. Back in the ring, Lawrence earned his second point and was one away from winning. They took their stances and Lawrence threw punch and over his arm he saw Zack's concern face and froze for a second, allowing his opponent to catch his fist and turn him around before kicked the back of his knee. Lawrence cried out and hopped back to his side of the mat. He looked up at Zack once more and took a deep breath before raising his arms above his head as well as one of his legs. When his opponent ran at him he quickly switched feet and high kicked his opponent in the face, knocking to the ground and winning the match.

After the tournament, Tomika and Zack watched as Lawrence's teacher handed him his black belt. "Hey, great job dude!" Zack said raising his hand to give him a high five. Lawrence just gave him a look. "Ok what? Can you just tell me what I did wrong already? I'm tired of getting the silent treatment and weird looks."

"Why can't you just hate me?" Lawrence yelled back before running off.

"Wait!" Zack called out, but he didn't turn around or stop.

"Go after him." Tomika said.

"You really think that's a good idea?" He asked.

"Trust me, he needs this." Zack nodded and ran after Lawrence. When he found him, he was sitting down on the steps outside and brooding.

"Lawrence, what's going on? I thought we were friends. I want to be friends. What did I do?" He asked him.

"You didn't...do anything. I did." Zack walked over and sat down next to him. "Remember back in middle school? I thought I was the baddest guy around. I mouthed off to everyone without thinking of what could go wrong. Why? Because I was 'Mr. Cool' I was in a band so that made me better or something. And one day, it went to far. I mouthed off to some of the biggest bullies in the school. Easily the worst thing I ever did. I was getting my asked kicked hard and then you showed up, I was stupid enough to think they wouldn't hurt you too."

"Larry,"

"That's why we can't be friends. I'm just going to get you hurt again. It's all my fault that happened. I can't imagine having to go home and explain what happened to your dad."

"Lawrence, it wasn't your fault." Lawrence looked up at him confused. "I ran in to help. I chose to try to do something. You didn't make me be there, you didn't ask for my help. I tried to help because you're my best friend. I wanted to be there for you and I still do if you're willing to be friends with me." Zack finished up. Lawrence was quiet for a minute before he looked up and smiled at him.

"You sure you'll still willing to have me?" Lawrence asked.

"Of course I am." Zack confirmed. They both smiled and did their secret hand shake..

"Can I crash this weekend?" Lawrence asked.

"Please do," Zack responded.


	4. Zack and Freddy's Night Out

"Oh come on! Still nothing?" Summer groaned in frustration. It was the Friday before Kale's birthday. Only three days left and she hadn't heard back from the mayor.

"Hey, calm down Sums, there's still time." Leonard said, putting his arm around her.

"I know, it's just that, I can't deal with last minute news. If we have the gig, I'd like to know now." She told her boyfriend as they entered the classroom where the band was practicing.

Zack: " _I don't need anyone else!"_

Katie: " _Yeah, yeah!"_

Zack: " _I live my life for myself!"_

Katie: " _Yeah, yeah!"_

Zack: " _I can't stand a thing that you say!"_

Katie: " _Yeah, yeah!"_

Both: " _I'm not listening anyway!"_

Katie " _YEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!"_

The rest of the band clapped after they finished up. "Well, what do you think?" Zack asked Chiaki.

"It's good, but it needs some work. Shelf it for now." He told him. Zack nodded and went over to Summer. "So?" He asker her.

"Still nothing," She said with a sigh.

"Ok, well there's still time." He said. "But, maybe we shouldn't hold our breaths too hard."

"I thought it was really good Babe." Freddy told his technical boyfriend.

"Thanks, now how did you really feel?" He asked.

"It could use a little more fine tuning." Freddy admitted. "I guess their date went well." He said gesturing towards Frankie and Katie.

"Yeah, Katie told me her took her to a water park."

"That's so cool."

"Yeah. Sorry I had to bail last time, but Lawrence had a karate thing and I didn't want to miss it now that we're friends again."

"Hey, it's fine. My mom needed help around the house anyways since her new boyfriend was coming over. Hey, why don't we go out tonight?" He asked him.

"Tonight?" Zack repeated, caught off guard.

"Yeah. Does tonight not work for you?"

"No, it's fine. It's just really short notice, that's all." Zack explained.

"Ok, so tonight then?" Freddy smile nervously.

"Yeah. Tonight." Zack said, taking Freddy's hands in his. Freddy leaned in and kissed Zack on the nose.

"Get a room!" Gordon said from across the room. Zack laughed a little and shook his head.

The rest of band practice went by normally until about four o'clock when all of them decided to go home. Zack climbed into his mom's car and waved at Freddy one last time before she drove off. "You've been spending a lot of time with that Jones boy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you like him." Zack's mother told him.

"W-what? No, that's not it at all. I honestly didn't even notice." He said while starting to sweat.

"Zack, I'm just teasing. Don't take it so seriously." She reassured him.

"Oh right." He said, calming down.

* * *

Freddy hopped off his board as he arrived home. "Hey Mom, I'm home!" He called out. _No answer, she must be at work._ He thought as he walked upstairs to his room. "Hey Dad," he said to the picture of his father on his desk next to his bed. "I got a date tonight. It's...with a guy. You wouldn't mind though right? It's Zack from my class back in fifth grade, I really like him. I just hope it goes well. Wish me luck."

Freddy's father passed away shortly after Battle of the Bands. He usually talks to the picture of him when he's feeling down or anxious about something. It always manage to make him feel better. He got up and walked down the hall to take shower.

* * *

Ashton was in his room flipping through and old Playboy magazine when he felt his phone vibrate next to him. He looked and saw it was from Zack.

Z: Hey, can you come to my room?

Ashton sat up and walked to his brother's room next to his. "Alright squirt, what's up?" He asked, walking in. He saw Zack searching panically through his closet. Zack looked wet as if he was just in the shower and only had a towel on wrapped around his waist. "Um, Zack?"

"Oh good you're here. I need your help, you've been on a lot dates right?" He asked his older brother.

"You know the answer to that." Ashton said with a smirk.

"Me and Freddy are going on our first date tonight. What should I wear?"

"Are you guys going anywhere fancy?"

"No, we're going to a movie then to this place his dad use to take him for dinner." Zack told him.

"Ok, let's see then." Ashton held up two shirts in front of Zack and looked back and forth at each of them. One was a black shirt with a red, bleeding Superman logo on it, the other was a blue tank top with a wave on it. He threw that one back on the bed. "This one, definitely." Zack took it and slipped in on.

"Now, jeans or skinny jeans?" Zack asked him.

"When did you even get skinny jeans? And further more, why?" Ashton asked, taking ahold of them. They were black, unlike his pair of regular jeans, which we a faded blue.

"Well, remember when we went to the mall last year and I took off for awhile?"

"Oh. Just go with your normal jeans." He told him.

"Got it." The two brother's just stood there awkwardly. "Can you leave now? I'm still naked under this towel." Zack told him.

"Right, sorry. Good luck on your date." He said leaving Zack in his room.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Zack got a text from Freddy saying he was outside. His face lit up as he hopped of his bed and went downstairs. "Mom, I'm going out with some of my friends. I'll be back soon."

"Ok, don't stay out too late. And be safe!" She called back.

"Yes, Mom." He said walking out the door. Freddy was standing at the end of the driveway and smiled when he saw Zack. Freddy had his hair spiked up like he usually did and had a red tank top on which showed half a sun and black cargo shorts.

"Hey," Freddy said with a smile. "You look great Babe." He told him.

"Thanks. So do you." Zack replied, blushing.

"Ready to go?" Freddy asked.

"Yeah," The two held each other's hand and walked off. Unbenounced to them however, Zack's mother was watching from the kitchen window with a look of realization on her face.

* * *

Summer sat up upon hearing her phone go off. "Baby, come back to bed." Leonard groaned behind her, still lying in his bed. Ignoring her boyfriend's request, she walked over to he stuff and pulled her phone out of her purse. Her phone screen showed a text from Kale.

K: My dad was about to tell you, but I wanted to. You guys got the gig!

"Leo, we got it!" She shouted in glee, jumping up and down on his bed. "We're in! I gotta tell Michelle and Eleni."

* * *

Zack and Freddy walked out of the movie into the cool (almost) Fall air. The drummer shivered when the wind hit his body, he was regretting his choice in clothing now. "Here," Zack said holding out the black jacket he grabbed last minute.

"Oh, thanks." Freddy said putting the jacket on over his shoulders.

"No problem...Babe." Zack said with a smile. Freddy looked surprised at hearing Zack call him that for once and blushed. They continued down the block where they planned to eat, but wouldn't you know it?

"It's closed?" Freddy asked, annoyed. On the door, hanged a "Shut Down" sign. "Come on, this place was great, what'd they close it down for?"

"Hey, I'm sorry Freddy. Why don't we just get some food at your place? It's on the way to mine anyways." Zack suggested to his boyfriend.

"Wait, I know a place that'll still be open. Come on follow me." Freddy said, taking off in the opposite direction.

"Hang on!" Zack called out before running after Freddy. They ran down a couple city blocks and made it close to downtown when Freddy stopped in front of the museum.

"Ok, it's Friday, so if he's not near, he must be at the train station." Freddy said to himself before he started running again.

"Wait stop!" Zack called and Freddy turned around and ran back.

"What? Is something wrong?" He asked.

"That way's dangerous. We should take the other way."

"That'll take too long Zack." Zack knew he was right and thought hard for a minute. He knew they couldn't go Freddy's way. It'd take them through the most dangerous part of town. Even in the middle of the day, it isn't that safe.

"I got it, follow me." Zack said before taking off in the direction Freddy was going to head, only making a left in the opposite direction. Freddy was confused at the route Zack was taking him but ran along anyways. Zack did have a point about his way being too unsafe. Zack turned and headed down an ally. "Help me out hear," He said grabbing one side of a big dumpster. Freddy didn't hesitate and grabbed the other side. The two moved it to the other side of the ally underneath a fire escape on the side of a building. Zack climbed on top of the dumpster and grabbed ahold of the fire escape ladder and climbed up with Freddy following behind.

"How do you know about this way?" Freddy called ahead.

"My brother showed me all kinds of different ways around the city." Zack yelled back. The climbed the fire escape all the way to the roof. "Ok, don't lose any speed here." Zack told him.

"You're not really gonna-" Freddy started, but was cut off by Zack already running and jumped from the roof they were on to the next building. Freddy's jaw was hanging low before he swallowed hard and ran after him. They went the way for awhile from rooftop to rooftop until Freddy saw the train station. Zack came to a stop and ran down the fire escape on that building with Freddy still behind him. They ran a few blocks more before they finally made it to the train station.

"So, why did we run all the way here?" Zack asked Freddy. Freddy ran up next to hip and stopped to catch his breath.

"That's why." He pointed to a man standing outside with a hot dog stand.

"That's it?" Zack asked.

"You won't be complaining once you have one." Freddy told him. The pair walked up to the man.

"Freddy? Freddy Jones?" The man asked in a surprised voice. "Is that really you?"

"Hey Jack," He waved. Jack was a very tall, think man with a full beard.

"Come here and give me hug, little man." He walked over and hugged the teen hard. "You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you!"

"Yeah, it has been a pretty long time."

"I'll say. Who's your friend?" He asked, once he noticed Zack standing there quietly.

"This, is Zack. My boyfriend." He said putting his arm around the guitarist.

"Well, don't you two look cute together. So, what'll be Freddy, the usual?" The man asked.

"What can I say? I'm just that basic. I'll take two, one for me one for my *special guy.*" (I use * to signify whispering) Jack handed Freddy two hog dogs and Freddy gave one over to Zack.

"I usually get relish on it." Zack said.

"Trust me, just try it first." Freddy told him before taking a bite of his own. Zack shrugged and did as he was told.

"Oh my god, it's really amazing." He said quietly.

"See? I told you." Freddy said with a smile. Zack wolfed the rest of it down and asked for one more before the two began to make their way home. They took the long way of course to avoid the dangerous neighborhood but they did find their way to Freddy's house.

* * *

"I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow?" Zack said with a question.

"Actually, I'm walking you home." Freddy told him.

"Are you sure? I mean, your house is right here and you'll have to walk all the way back." Zack explained.

"I don't care. I just want to make sure you get home alright." Freddy said taking Zack's hands in his own. Zack smiled and they made the walk to Zack's house five blocks down.

"Well, here we are." Zack said once they were standing in the driveway.

"I had a really great time tonight." Freddy told him, staring deeply into his eyes.

"Yeah, me too." Zack said, beginning to blush. Freddy moved in close and draped his arms over Zack's shoulders. Zack wrapped his arms around Freddy's waist and pulled his body right up against his own. The two leaned in, but right before their lips touched, a bright light over the garage turned on blinding them both.

"Geez, think it's bright enough?" Freddy asked, shading his eyes.

"It's just Ashton messing with us. Now, where were we?" Zack asked with a smirk. Before they could continue, the front door swung open.

"Zachary Mooneyham!"

"Oh shit. That's my dad." Zack said with a worried expression.

"What's wrong?" Freddy asked.

"I- I haven't told him that I'm gay yet. Oh god, what's he gonna say? What's he gonna do?" Zack said, breathing fast and hard.

"Calm down, calm down. It's ok Babe, just face him. You can do it and oh god, he's walking over." Zack's father walked over to the two with a serious look on his face. Zack squeezed Freddy's hand hard.

"What do you think you're doing out here?" He asked.

"Look Dad, I'm sorry I didn't-"

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" His father interrupted. "It's tomorrow." He said after glancing at his watch.

"Huh?" Zack asked in surprised. Was his father really only angry about him being out late?

"Get inside young man and get ready for bed." His father told him.

"Um, yes sir." He said still confused.

"Here, have your jacket back." Freddy said taking Zack's jacket off.

"No, keep it. It looks good on you." He said with a small smile before walking inside.

"I'll be right inside Zack, just gonna give Freddy here the dad talk." His father continued. Zack nodded before waving to Freddy and going inside. "I want you to stay away." Zack's father said as soon as his son closed the door.

"What?" Freddy asked in surprised.

"You heard me. I don't want you dating my son anymore."

"Look, Mr, Mooneyham, with all due respect sir-"

"I don't want to hear it. I've heard about you Jones. You date someone for awhile before you get bored, then you cheat on the and break their hearts. Well, it's not going to happen to my son. So, no more dating him and no more walking him to school. You will not be spending time with him outside of your band practices. You want live like you're single but have someone to fall back on? Fine, but not with Zack. Do we understand each other?" He asked, finishing his statement.

"Yes," Freddy moaned.

"Yes what?"

"Yes sir." Freddy said.

"Enjoy my son's jacket. It's all you'll be getting out of him." Zack's father walked inside and turned the garage lights off. Freddy was fuming at this point. He turned around and walked back the way to his house with his head down. He tried to keep it together, but he caved and let out a cry of anger about halfway home.


	5. Love Hurts)(Rock Again

"Ok guys, this is it. Kale's party is tomorrow. I know we haven't had much time to prepare, but if there's one thing we're good at, it's randomly coming out from behind. So, let's give Kale a birthday she won't forget!" Summer finished up her speech to the band. Everyone started clapping. It may have been Sunday, but they all came in for one final day of practice to make sure they were ready. "Billy, do you have their outfits ready?" She asked, turning to the band's stylist.

"Should Pumpkin Spice be a year long flavor?" He retorted.

"Can you just talk like a normal person this one time? I ask so little of you."

"Yes. That means yes." He told her.

"Good. Gordon, Marco do you guys have everything you need?"

"Yes we do." Marco answered her.

"We even got a van for our equipment." Gordon continued.

"Well, color me impressed." Summer commented. "Alright then, if we're all ready, I'll see you all tomorrow." She said, leaving the room with Leonard following her.

"So no one thought it was important to tell her that we have no idea what song we're gonna play?" Chiaki asked the group.

"What she doesn't know, won't hurt us." Tomika told him with Marta and Alicia nodding in agreement.

"Well, I did work on that song from before. And buy work on, I mean I wrote a totally new song."

"Ok then, let's hear it." Katie suggested.

"Sure, but I think it'll sound better if you sing it." He said handing her a piece of paper. She looked puzzled but took it anyways.

* * *

"Oh wait, I forgot to ask if we have a song picked out yet." Summer remembered as she and Leonard were about to leave the school. "I gotta go back and ask." She told her boyfriend.

"Go ahead, I'll wait here." He told her. She ran back to class room an entered right as Katie finished playing Zack's new song

"Same old stuff, never ends _~"_

"Ok, I guess that answers my question. Later," She said leaving.

"So, what do you guys think?" Zack asked.

"What do we think? That was awesome Zack-Attack!" Chiaki told him.

"Really?" Zack asked, surprised.

"Yeah man, that was great." Lawrence told him, swinging and arm around him. "Nice to know you aren't a one hit wonder." He continued.

"Thanks you guys."

"Alright. If we've got everything taken care of, let's call it a day." Chiaki told everyone.

"That was a really good song Babe." Freddy told Zack as they were packing up their stuff.

"Thanks, I've been working on it for awhile actually. Hey, would it be alright if I come over for dinner tonight?" Zack asked his boyfriend.

"I don't have a problem with it, but what're you going to tell your dad?" Freddy asked back. Freddy told Zack what his dad said it him after their date on Friday. Since then, they've decided to spend all their time together at school and out of sight of Ashton in case he'd squeal on them.

"I'll tell him I'm at Lawrence's or something. Hey Lawrence, if my dad asks, I'm at your place." He called over to him.

"Got it." Lawrence said back without question. They let some of the other band members know about their situation.

"See, it's all good." Zack said confidently, turning back to the blond.

"If you think that'll work." He said, still unsure.

"Babe, do you think really my dad's going to do anything to you?" Zack asked.

"No, of course not." He told him.

"Then why are you so worried about this?" He asked

"Because I don't know what he would and wouldn't do to you." Freddy said putting his hand on Zack's shoulder. "I wanna keep seeing you, but I don't like you putting yourself in danger for me."

"Freddy, if he finds out, I can handle it." He said kissing Freddy's forehead. "Now let's go." He said with a smile.

* * *

Lawrence and Tomika were outside the school waiting for Tomika's mom to pick them up. Tomika and Lawrence lived very close to each other so it was normal to give each other a ride home.

"Bye Lawrence," Alicia and Marta said in unison flirty voices. Lawrence waved nervously with a smile. Tomika looked annoyed and turned away as her mom pulled up to the curb.

"Get it, Romeo." She said pushing Lawrence in the car.

"You in a mood or something?" He asked.

"No," She said not turning her head to look at him.

* * *

"You're really risking going to Freddy's tonight?" Katie asked Zack while climbing onto her bike.

"Why does everyone feel the need to worry? I'll be fine. Besides, Lawrence is covering for me."

"He could still find out Zack. Remember the last time your dad got really mad?" She asked him to which he responded by rubbing his arm.

"Hey Babe," Freddy said skating up to them. "Sorry I took so long, ready?" He asked. Katie looked at Zack one more time before riding off.

"Yeah, let's go." He said taking ahold of Freddy's hand beginning the walk. Zack was quiet for a lot of the trip, luckily Freddy was filling the empty void by talking about the show tomorrow. While Zack wasn't really listening however, it didn't worry him before but with Freddy and Katie showing concern, he really started to wondering if he should be trying this.

"Zack? Babe? Lights are on, is anyone home?" Freddy asked tapping his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry." He said walking inside. Freddy looked at him worried.

"Hey Mom, I'm back! And I have a Zack with me!" Freddy called.

"Oh, Zack what a pleasant surprise." Freddy's mother said walking downstairs. "Freddy, you really should bring him over more often. You two always look so cute together." She commented.

"Ugh, Mom," Freddy groaned and looked away embarrassed earning a chuckle from Zack.

"I hope you don't mind me staying for dinner." He told her.

"No, not at all. It's always a delight having you over." She told him.

"We'll be in my room until then." Freddy said beginning to climb the stairs.

"That door better stay open boys." She warned.

"Yes Mom," Freddy said sarcastically.

"Don't worry Ms. Huerta, we won't do anything we shouldn't be." Zack told her. They went into Freddy's room and Zack sat down as Freddy started putting his things away. Zack felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and looked at it to see a text from Ashton.

A: Hey puke stain, Dad's getting that feeling again. You out w/ Freddy?

Z: No, I'm at Lawrence's for dinner. I'll call and tell him.

Zack found his dad's number and started to call him. He looked at Freddy and put a finger over his mouth and Freddy nodded and ceased movement all together. Zack heard his dad pick up.

"Zack, you should be home by now, where are you? If you're somewhere with that Jones boy-"

"Dad, it's ok. Lawrence wanted me to have dinner at his house. That's where I am right now." There was a long pause on the other end.

"Alright. Don't stay too late. You have school tomorrow and have to play at Kale's birthday, remember?"

"Yeah Dad, how could I forget? See you when I get home, bye." He said, hanging up.

"Hey, you alright?" Freddy asked putting and hand on Zack's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Zack said looking away.

"We both know that's bullshit Babe. You know you can tell me-"

"Freddy, I said I'm fine!" He shouted, turning to look at him with tears beginning to form. "I-I'm sorry," He said as the tears began to slowly roll down his face. Freddy wrapped and arm around Zack as he buried his face in his boyfriend's shoulder. "Why can't he just see that you're different?"

"Look, I don't like it either, but it is my fault. I acted like a player and now I just expect everyone to believe I can be faithful. I honestly don't know how you can so easily trust me." He said.

"To be honest, I'm still afraid that you will." Freddy looked at him with a hurt expression. "I'm scared, but I'm putting all my trust in you because I'd rather leave it to chance than to not date you at all." Zack finished. Freddy smiled a bit and pecked Zack on the nose. Zack grabbed the back of Freddy's head shoved their lips together. Freddy was cut off guard but didn't fight it. The opened their mouths and batted with their tongues for dominance, with Zack coming out winning and pushing his tongue into Freddy's mouth. Once they broke for air they realized that they had made their way over to Freddy's bed with Zack hovering over him. They looked into each other's eyes, unsure of what they should do. Before they could make a move they heard Freddy's mom call them from downstairs.

"Come on down you two, dinner's ready!" They looked relieved and walked downstairs.

* * *

Zack returned home late and prepared himself for his father to be angry again. "Welcome home young man." He heard his dad's voice as he walked in.

"Dad, I know what you're going to say and I'm sorry I'm home late and-"

"I could care less what time it is." He interrupted. Zack looked confused by his father's statement. "I'm more angry about how you lied to me." Zack's eyes went wide with shock. "I saw you walking with Freddy when I was driving back home. And after I specifically told you to stop seeing him."

"Dad, if you just give Freddy a chance-"

"He chose the kind of man he wants to be and I won't let you set yourself up to be played with. You're a Mooneyham, not a toy."

"Why can't you just let me date who I want?" Zack asked.

"Why can't you just listen to me for once instead of being a disobedient brat?"

"I did listen to you. For my entire childhood and it sucked! I was never happy with myself! I was too scared to ever talk first and I could never have friends over unless you approved of them and their parents. Look, I like him ok?! And now, I'm deciding for myself!" He finished yelling and walked up stairs to his room.

"Zachary! We are not done talking!" His father followed him.

"Yes. We are." He said slamming his door.

"Go to your room!" He yelled.

"I'm already in my room!" Zack yelled from the other side. He looked at his phone one more time and saw a text from Ashton.

A: Well, that could've gone better.

* * *

The next morning Freddy got a text from Zack asking to meet him in one of the school's bathrooms. "Ok, I'm here. Why'd you want to see me here Babe?" Zack locked the door upon Freddy entering. Freddy looked confused and a little worried. "What's going on?"

"Fuck what my dad says." Was all he said before he pulled Freddy into began to furiously make out with him. Freddy quickly melted into the kiss and opened his mouth to allow Zack to enter. The two dropped their belongings and pulled each other in tighter. Zack slowly began to unbutton Freddy's shirt. Freddy, broke away when this happened.

"Wait Zack, what're you doing?"

"Shh, just let it happened." He said placing a hand on the drummer's developing abs. Freddy was hesitant but continued anyways. Zack traced Freddy's chest with one hand while his other hand moved lower. He slowly slid his hand up Freddys leg and moved it more inward. Freddy felt Zack's hand getting near his groin area and knew he had to back out. He liked Zack, but there was no way he was ready for this yet. He broke apart the deep kiss they were in.

"Zack, don't-" Zack grabbed his face and started kissing him again. Freddy pulled away, "Zack stop it-" Zack grabbed his hair this time and pulled him back in. Freddy managed to fight him off once again. "Zack, I said stop!" He yelled pushing him away. Zack looked and saw his boyfriend standing before him, out of breath, slightly hunched over and worst of all, afraid of him.

"Oh my god," Zack said to himself. F-Freddy, I-I don't know what I...oh god, I was about to-" He cut himself off.

"Babe," Freddy said walking toward him.

"Don't come near me! I...I almost...I should go."

"Zack,"

"I'm sorry, but I think we should stop." Freddy's eyes went wide with fear. "You may have been a player, but I was almost worse. Goodbye." He was about to leave when Freddy grabbed ahold of his wrist.

"Don't go. Zack, I need you. You're just in a bad place that's all. It doesn't have to end this way. We can work it out. Every relationship has problems, you can't just walk out like this." He said pleading with the brunette halfway out the door.

"Freddy, you saw me. You had to stop me three times. I can't be trusted with you anymore."

"Is that what you really think, or is that what you dad wants you to?" Zack stopped trying to leave. "I know your dad found out, it's obvious. That back there, that wasn't you. I know you. You would never harm a fly and you definitely wouldn't force me into sex. If you leave now, your dad wins." Freddy let go of Zack's wrist and he thankfully walked back inside.

"I don't know what came over me. Dad told to stop seeing you and that I should just obey him and I was just so angry I wanted to prove that he can't control me like that so I wanted to go all the way with you without even thinking about what you wanted and-and-" He manage to say in between sobs and heavy breaths. "You really still want to be with me?" He asked.

"I can't imagine myself with anyone better for me." Freddy told him, hugging him tighter then he ever had. When they pulled apart Zack was still crying, but had the biggest smile Freddy had ever seen anyone have. "You were right about one thing though. Fuck whatever your dad says." He said before they came together in a long romantic kiss. After they broke apart, Freddy wiped all the tears from Zack's eyes. "Please don't cry Zack, I can't stand seeing you in so much pain."

"As long as you're with me, the only tears I'll be crying are from joy."

"That's so sweet," They turned and saw Billy standing in the doorway. "Now please leave so I can pee." The two of them looked embarrassed and laughed a little before leaving.

* * *

"I trust you're all ready?" Summer asked the band that had gathered in the class after school.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Chiaki told her.

"Good, Frankie and Gordon are loading up your instruments into the truck. I managed to convince the principal to let us use a school bus to get there."

"How did you manage to do that?" Tomika asked her. Summer looked at her and smiled devilishly. "I regret asking."

"C'mon everyone let's get going." They all ran out of the classroom and onto their bus where they found their seats before it took off. It was about a half hour ride to the Mayor's house. They all climbed off and went up to the gate where they saw Kale inside. "There she is."

"Hey Kale!" Freddy called out. Kale was one of Freddy's ex's and the only that he was on good terms with. She turned and perked up when she saw them at the gate and ran over to see them.

"Hey guys! Come on inside, my dad's really interested in seeing you guys play. Hey, where are you instruments?" She asked them.

"Wait Gordon and Frankie haven't showed up yet?" Freddy asked.

"No, I don't so." She told them. They all looked at each other worried.

"Band huddle." Summer announced and they all gathered together in a circle. "Ok, we are at one of the most important gigs of our lives. Our entire comeback depends on this going well and all our equipment is missing. Any ideas?" She asked.

"Acapella?" Marta suggested.

"I'm going to begin shunning you for the rest of the week." Zack told her.

"Well, I did see this Flinstones episode once," Chiaki started.

"Please don't finish that sentence." Lawrence begged.

"They have Flinstones in Japan?" Alicia asked.

"They're called reruns child." He told her.

"What's a rerun?" Freddy asked.

"I've never felt old until that question. Thanks Jones."

"You're welcome. Wait,"

"We're getting off subject here. Why don't some of us distract the mayor while two of us try to get in contact with the guys?" Katie pitched in.

"That's actually a really good plan." Summer told her. "Ok, I will distract the mayor with Kale. Freddy, you and Zack-they already left to make out didn't they?" They all looked to where they were standing and the two were indeed gone. Summer took a deep breath. "Lawrence, you and Katie get in contact with our missing troops. Billy, you get everyone else into their outfits. Ready?"

"Break!" They yelled and turned back around to face Kale.

"Hey Kale, can you come with me to see your father? I just want to thank him beforehand for having us." Summer told her.

"Sure," She said, none the wiser as they walked off. Katie and Lawrence attempted to call the other members while Billy lead the one's there to go change.

* * *

"Have you got ahold of Marco yet?" Katie asked.

"No, he's not picking up. How about Frankie are you getting anything?" Lawrence asked.

"I think his phone's dead, it's going straight to voicemail." She told him. "I'll try Gordon, for all the good it'll do." Gordon barely ever picks up his phone, including now. "Yep, new that wouldn't work."

"What're we going to do now? I don't think Summer can distract the mayor too long."

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Zack asked walking up to them with Freddy trailing slowly behind.

"And just where the Hell did you two go?" Katie asked in frustration.

"I wanted cake." Freddy admitted.

"Well, go find Billy he's getting everyone ready. We're trying to get ahold of our guys." She explained.

"Right, c'mon Babe." Freddy said grabbing Zack's hand and running off.

* * *

"Uh, Billy no offense but...you out of ideas or something?" Alicia asked.

"What makes you said that?" Billy asked.

"These are the exact outfits we wore at Battle of the Bands, only bigger so they can fit us." Marta pointed out.

"It's symbolic, just wear them." He told the two girls who shrugged and left with Freddy and Zack walking past them on the way in. "Oh hey, it's the actual gay ones in the band." He joked when they walked in.

"Cute Fancy-Pants, just give us our shit." Freddy told him. Billy gave them their outfits and they went back to change.

* * *

"Wait, wait. Marco's actually picking up!" Lawrence said excited.

"What's up Larry?" Marco said on the other end. Katie grabbed the phone out of his hand.

" **WHERE ARE YOU?!** " She screamed into the phone.

"Oh, hi Katie." He said in surprise. "Sorry we're running late, Gordon wanted to stop for tacos."

"Stop for...Marco, hang up the phone before I reached through Lawrence's mobile talking device and straggle you all."

"Geez, sorry. We're almost there anyways."

"Hang up the phone!" She yelled before hanging up and throwing Lawrence his phone back "Fuck! Ok, let's go." She said calming down.

* * *

The van pulled up carrying all the instruments. "Ok, let's get a move on. Katie already wants us dead. Especially you Gordon." Leonard told them as the four of them carried the instruments to the stage.

* * *

"You've thanked me enough Summer, now when is your band going on?" The mayor asked beginning to become annoyed.

"Any second now. I swear." _They better be going any second._

"Well I certainly hope so." He commented in a threatening voice. Summer swallowed hard.

"Ok, is everyone here?" Chiaki asked, taking a head count of the band. Everyone was present and ready. "Alright cool, now where are-"

"We're here!" Frankie shouted. They all turned the heads and saw their instruments heading towards them and wasted no time running over and taking them and running back to the stage while Marco and Gordon plugged all their stuff in. Summer saw them and let out a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Mayor, I present to you; School of Rock." She said proudly.

"Ok, we really need to wow him with this so we'll save Zack's song for another show." Chiaki told the band.

"Well, do you have any ideas?" Zack asked him. Chiaki thought for a second then smiled.

"Time to see if all the build up you gave this band was worth it." The mayor said folding his arms, his mood was quickly changed however when the music started playing.

Chiaki: " _The warden threw a party in the county jail_

 _The prison band was there and they began to wail_

 _The band was jumping and the joint began to swing_

 _You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing_

 _Let's rock! Everybody, let's rock!_

 _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!_

 _Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone_

 _Little Joe was blowing on the side trombone_

 _The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang_

 _The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang_

 _Let's rock! Everybody, let's rock!_

 _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!_

 _Instrumental_

 _We're dancing to the Jailhouse Rock (x4)_

 _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!_

 _They were dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing to the Jailhouse Rock! (x2)_

 _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _They were dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!_

 _Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock! (x4)_

 _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _They were dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!"_

Zack: " _The sad sack was sittin' on a block of stone_

 _Way over in the corner weeping all alone!"_

Katie: " _The warden said, 'Hey, buddy, don't you be no square._

 _If you can find a partner, use a wooden chair."_

Lawrence: " _Let's rock! Everybody, let's rock!"_

Tomika: " _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!"_

 _Instrumental_

Chiaki: " _Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock (x2)_

 _We're dancing to the Jailhouse Rock_

 _Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock_

 _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!_

 _They were dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing to the Jailhouse Rock! (x2)_

 _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _They were dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!_

 _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!"_

All: " _Everybody on the whole cell block_

 _They were dancing to the Jailhouse Rock!"_

There was a moment of silence before the crowd went wild with applause. Even the mayor's whole demeanor had changed as he was jumping up and down with the rest of the party.

"Well I must say, Summer, that was well worth the wait. That's a fine group of kids you manage there." The mayor told her.

"Thank you very much Mr. Mayor. That speaks volumes coming from you." She smiled.

* * *

After the party, the band was loading their instruments back into the van. "Gotta say Chiaki, that was some quick thinking up there." Summer commented on her teacher's choice in song.

"Ah, it was nothing. I just knew that we needed something big to wow the Mayor."

"Hey, great job Babe. You were amazing." Freddy told Zack.

"Not as great as you sounded." Zack retorted, kissing Freddy on the cheek.

"I can't believe I forgot how great your voice is." Lawrence said to Tomkia as he was loading his keyboard.

"Aw, thanks." She said with a small blush. "But hey, you weren't bad up there yourself, 'Mr. Cool.'"

"I just want you to know I'm really sorry, but also really glad it all worked out in the end." Frankie said taking Katie's bass guitar to put it in the van.

"Yeah, I guess it did, didn't it?" She asked herself.

"You know, If you're not too mad, I was thinking maybe-"

"Frankie," Katie interrupted.

"Katie,"

"Stop talking," She said before the two leaned in and embraced in a kiss. Freddy nudged Zack and pointed over to the two of them.

"I must say, that had to be one of the best shows I've seen in awhile." A man said approaching the band. "Even better than last time." The band all recognized that voice and were surprised when he stepped into the light.

"Mr. Finn?!"

"Good to see you still know how to rock."


	6. Aftermath

"Mr. Finn? What are you doing here?" Summer asked. The whole band was standing in shock at seeing their old teacher standing before them clear as day.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I saw the update saying you were playing at Kale's birthday. Nothing was going to keep me from coming back to see you guys." Summer smiled and hugged him. "Glad to see you kids still got it. Summer, you haven't changed a bit." She turned away so no one would see her blush.

"Freddy, still full of energy?" He asked.

"Is that even a real question? You said you watched." He said amused. Zack walked up beside him and rested his head on Freddy's shoulder. "Oh yeah, this happened." The drummer told Dewey.

"Well, it's about time." He commented.

"Yeah," Zack said with a sigh. "Wait what?" He asked surprised.

"Zack, we all knew you had a crush on Freddy."

"Was it really that bad?" He asked Gordon.

"I'm pretty sure everyone caught on awhile ago." He told him.

"Besides, I saw you sneaking a peak at Freddy while he was changing at Battle of the Bands." Dewey told him. Freddy looked at Zack surprised and Zack looked away embarrassed.

"Not cool Mr. Finn," He said still focusing on the ground.

"You watched me change?" Freddy asked with a smug look on his face.

"We were ten, it wasn't like in a sexual way or anything." Zack explained, still not looking Freddy in the eye.

"You watched me change." Freddy repeated.

"I thought you had a cute butt." Zack admitted. He leaned back and glanced and Freddy's backside. "You still do." He told him. Freddy began to laugh hard.

"Lawrence, looking good. What's new?"

"Well, I'm a black belt now and me and Zack are friends again."

"No shit? Told you you were cool."

"I think I realize that now."

"Tomika, glad to see those pipes of yours of still holding up."

"You were worried?" She asked him.

"Not in the slightest." He looked over at Lawrence who had walked over to talk to Marta and Alicia.

"Have you told him yet?" He asked her quietly.

"No, not exactly." She said shyly.

"Well you better before those two snatch him up." He told her. "And Katie, you haven't changed a bit."

"What? I'm way different now." She told him.

"How so?" He asked.

"I'm...dating Frankie." That was all she could think of.

"Well, I definitely wouldn't have seen that coming. But I'm happy for you." He said before walking over to Chiaki. "So you're the new guy?" He asked.

"What of it?" He asked, puffing up his chest.

"*Listen, these kids you're working with, they're the most talented and motivated group I've ever seen. I couldn't be there for them, you need to be. They're just as lucky to have you as you are to have them.*" He finished his ramble.

"*You got it man. Being in School of Rock is a dream come true for me. I wouldn't leave them for the world.*"

"Good man." He said giving the new singer a pat on the shoulder. "Well, unfortunately, I can't stay, but know how happy I am to see you all together again. Rock on students, class dismissed." He said before walking off into the night.

"Alright well, I'm going to make sure all our stuff gets back safe. You kids go on home. You've earned a rest." Chiaki said, climbing into the van and driving off. Everyone joined in a group hug before they got in their individual rides and went home.

* * *

Zack sat next to Ashton in the back of his dad's car texting Freddy as an awkward silence filled the car. "Well, I was very impressed by the show. You did a good job Zack, don't you think so Dear?" She asked, nudging her husband.

"Yeah, it was pretty tight huh Dad?" Ashton continued trying to get his father to say something. He looked in the rear view mirror at Zack who was aware of his father's stare but kept his attention glued to his phone. "Hey Zack," Ashton gave his brother a shove to get his attention, "That was awesome bro." He told him.

"Oh, thank you." He replied looking up to see his father's eyes still trained on him. He let out a grunt in frustration and looked back at his phone. Ashton and his mother were beyond happy when they pulled into the driveway and climbed out. Zack and his father shared one last glance with each other before leaving the car. Zack walked in first and headed right towards the stairs with his dad coming in and shutting the front door.

"Zachary," Zack stopped in his tracks but refused to turn around. "I just want to say that you performed very well tonight."

"Thanks," Zack replied coldly, again without turning around. "I'm going to bed, I have school tomorrow."

"Wait son, there's something else I want to say." Zack turned around and looked at his father annoyed.

"What?" He asked annoyed.

"Come on down," He told him walking into their living room. Zack hesitated at first, but followed his father downstairs and sat down next to him on the couch. "It has come to my attention, that I may have treated both you and the Jones boy unfairly."

"Wow, did you figure that out all on your own or did you have help?" Zack asked sarcastically.

"Please, let me finish. So, I wanted to give Freddy a chance. I want you to invite him over for dinner tomorrow." He told him.

"What?!" Zack exclaimed. "Dad are you crazy? Don't answer that."

"Zack, I want us to stop fighting, don't you?" He asked.

"Well yeah,"

"Then please, just do this one thing." He finished. Zack thought for long a while, considering his options. He did want to stop fighting with his dad, but at the same time, he wasn't sure how his dad would actually react to seeing Freddy in person. But if he really wanted for things to finally calm down, he knew what he had to do.

"Ok, I'll do it." Zack said, caving.

"Thank you." Zack got up and went back upstairs and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Zack saw Freddy up ahead on his skateboard and ran to catch up. "Hey Freddy! Wait up!" Freddy turned his head and jumped off his board and ran back to meet up with Zack.

"Hey babe, what's up?" Freddy flashed Zack a smile.

"I need you to be chill for a few seconds. Can you do that?" Zack asked him while out of breath.

"Are you kidding? Babe, I'm the chillist there is." He told him. Zack looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "What do you need me to be chill about?"

"My dad wants you over for dinner tonight. He says he's been unfair to us and wants to give you a chance." Zack explained to him.

"Welp, guess I need to skip town." Freddy quickly responded.

"Freddy,"

"What's a good fake name? How's Kevin Alexander Clark sound?"

"Why do you have three first names?" Zack asked.

"It's all I could think of on the spot, give me a break."

"Anyways, Freddy you need to come over tonight."

"Babe, no offense, I'd love to, but your dad's gonna kill me." Freddy said starting to panic.

"He's not gonna do anything to you. I think" Freddy looked at his with his eyes wide. "Look, if this goes well, he'll finally accept this." Zack told him before pulling Freddy in close and kissing him.

"Ok babe, I'll do it for you. For us." He said resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. The two walked into the school where the heard an applause around the corner and saw a lot of students surrounding some of the other band members and turned around to avoid the crowd but that failed as they walked right into a smaller group of students.

"Guess we'll have to get used to this." Zack commented.

"When you're as good looking as me, you get used to it quickly." Freddy said while Zack shot him a look.

* * *

"Looks like the mayor wasn't the only one impressed with us." Summer noted, sitting inside Chiaki's classroom.

"Yeah, whole school's gone crazy on the lookout for you all." He told her.

"What about you? You sang, wouldn't everyone want to find you too?" She asked.

"Why do you think I got here so early this morning?" He asked rhetorically.

"That's fair. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to relish in some praise." She said leaving the room. Chiaki rolled his eyes and locked the door as she left.

* * *

"Hey Larry, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Tomika, what's up?" Lawrence asked as the two of them left their science class on the way to lunch.

"Did you really mean what you said last night? About my voice being beautiful?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Of course I did." He said in nonchalant tone. "I've always thought that Tamiks." He told her, flashing her a smile. She blushed and looked away with a small smile. "Why do you ask?" Lawrence continued.

"Huh?" Tomika snapped back into the conversation.

"Why do you suddenly want to know?" He reiterated.

"Oh, uh, that just kind of stuck out to me when you said it last night." She told him.

"In a good way?" He asked.

"Yeah, in good way." She confirmed. "Now let's get going, I'm starving!" She exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him along.

* * *

"It's not funny guys!" Zack complained, with Katie and Gordon still laughing.

"Come on Zack it is kind of funny." Katie told him in between breaths.

"I mean, just imagining little you trying to creep on little Freddy." Gordon before laughing again.

"When you say it like that, it sounds terrible." Zack said quietly sinking into his seat.

"Oh I'm so glad we still laugh together Katie," Gordon commented.

"I'm gonna kill you in your sleep." She said still laughing. Gordon stopped laughing and gave her a worried look.

"What are we laughing at?" Freddy asked sitting down next to Zack.

"Oh, just about that time Zack-" Gordon began.

"Nothing Babe," Zack interrupted. "Nothing," He repeated looking Gordon and Katie dead in the eyes.

"Uh, alright?" Freddy said confused.

"Are you still nervous?" Zack asked.

"How can I not be? The last time I saw your dad, he threatened me." Freddy reminded Zack of when they got back from their first date.

"Yeah, my dad's kind of nuts when it comes to dating you." Zack admitted.

"You think?" Freddy asked sarcastically.

"What's going on?" Katie asked.

"My dad wants Freddy over tonight for dinner." Zack told her.

"Like he wants him to eat dinner with you guys or Freddy is the dinner?" Gordon asked.

"Let's hope the former." Zack sighed. Freddy gave Zack a concerned look.

* * *

Zack was waiting on the front steps of the school for Freddy to arrive. Freddy had P.E. last so he was at the back end of the school and could take awhile. After almost ten minutes Freddy finally showed up. "Sorry it took awhile, I don't wanna do this."

"Come on, let's go. We need to stop by your place first." Zack told him.

"Sure thing, but why?"

"We need to get you in some nice clothes and you can't bring your skateboard to my house." Zack explained.

"Our uniforms aren't nice enough?" Freddy asked.

"Dad says school uniforms are for school."

"Right," Freddy commented.

* * *

They made their way to Freddy's house and went up to his room where Zack started going through his boyfriend's closet. He pulled out a navy blue button up shirt as well as a pair of jeans.

"Do you have a plain black shirt?" Zack asked.

"Should be in there somewhere." Freddy told him.

"Found it. Now put these on and-" Zack turned around and saw his boyfriend standing in just his boxer-briefs. Zack was completely at a loss for words as his jaw was hanging open and he felt his pants getting tighter.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Freddy asked.

"You uh, you're not um, well it's just that.." Zack tried to talk, but was tripping over his own words.

"Ohhhhhh. This doing for you?" Freddy asked stepping closer. Zack swallowed hard as Freddy pressed his almost naked body against him.

"Oh fuck it." Zack caved grabbing ahold of Freddy's face and bring him in closer and bean to kiss him hard. Freddy opened up his mouth to make way for Zack's tongue. Zack broke apart the kiss and pushed Freddy down on his bed and ripped his shirt off before climbing over Freddy and returned to the kiss they started before. Zack's hands were being used to keep him up so Freddy took it upon himself as he undid Zack's belt and began to unzip his pants. Zack chuckled and flipped over so Freddy was on top. Zack slid his pants off leaving him down to his own boxer-briefs. Freddy sat up and sit down in Zack's lap with his legs on either side. Zack was grinning from ear to ear as he squeezed Freddy's ass before beginning to finger the waistband of his boyfriend's underwear. Freddy began to breath hard and got up once Zack attempted to pull his boxer-briefs down. Zack got up and sat next to Freddy. "Hey, what's up? I thought we were really going somewhere there." Zack said laughing nervously.

"I'm sorry. I can't. I want to, I really, really do. But I'm just...not ready." He said looking down.

"That's alright. I like what we have already." Zack said taking Freddy's hand in his. "Come on, let's get changed and go." The two of them jumped off the bed, quickly got their clothes on and left Freddy's house.


	7. Freddy's Test

"Ok, just a few quick rules, no elbows on the table, only look at your phone if no one is speaking to you, speak in complete sentences with good grammar, when my dad is talking to you, look him in the eye and whatever you do, do NOT let my mom or dad know we almost did it at your place." Zack told his boyfriend as they got close to his house.

"I feel like that last one goes without saying." Freddy commented.

"Another thing, no smart ass remarks." Zack warned.

"But that's pivotal part of who I am Babe." Freddy whined.

"No whining." Zack said bluntly.

"What do you do for fun at home?" Freddy asked.

"Leave to go see you." Zack said before opening the front door. "Dad, I'm home! And I brought Freddy like you asked me to." Zack's father came out of another room and look the boys up and down.

"Glad to have you Freddy." His tone made it difficult for Freddy to tell if he was being serious, but Zack could tell he was suppressing anger.

"Thank you Mr. Mooneyham, I'm was glad to hear you wanted me over." Freddy replied in a calm mannerism that had Zack impressed. He didn't know Freddy could be this calm. Well, on the outside. The drummer was no doubt having a panic attack on the inside. "What's for dinner, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs," Zack's father told the teenager.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and change. I'll be back down in a minute." Zack told him and walked upstairs. Freddy felt immediately more vulnerable with Zack gone. He knew that if Zack's parents weren't around, he'd be allowed to go upstairs with him.

"Why don't you go wait in the living room?" Zack's dad suggested. Freddy nodded and walked past him and sat down on the couch. He was still amazed by how huge their house was. He used to live in a big house too, but had to downgrade after his father passed. Even so, Zack's house was still pretty big. No one was in the room with him so he took out his phone to keep him occupied.

"Well, well well, look what we have here." Freddy looked up as saw Zack's older brother enter the room.

"Ashton, right?" Freddy asked, not sure if he remembered his name.

"That's my name, don't wear it out. How's banging my brother working out for you?" He asked.

"W-what? We haven't-that's not our relationship at all." Freddy said, panicking a bit. He really hoped their dad didn't hear them.

"Relax, I'm just fucking with you man." He said, punching him in the arm. "Good answer though. Personally, I don't care if you sleep with Zack or not but always tell our mom and dad you don't."

"Uh, right. Thanks. If you don't mind me saying, you don't really act like anyone else around here."

"I'm a senior. Almost eighteen and out of here." Ashton told him.

"Makes sense I guess."

"My parents weren't all that happy when I started acting different from how they wanted, but they've lightened up lately. Zach, however, is turning way earlier than I did. You're doing quite the number on him."

"Assure you, I'm not doing anything. I actually was worried when he decided to start lying to see me." Freddy told him.

"Wow, who know my little brother had such a rebellious streak to him?"

"I'm back, oh hi Ashton." Zack said, walking in. "*Has he been given you a hard time?*"

"I'm fine Babe."

"Better not call each other that in front of Mom and Dad."

"Good to note." Freddy commented.

"Dinner's ready boys," Zack's mom said walking into the room. The three of them got up and walked into the dining room. Zack's parents sat at opposite ends of the table while Zack and Ashton sat across from each other the short way. Freddy took the seat next to Zack.

"*So, am I supposed to say anything or...*" Freddy whispered in Zack's ear.

"*Just take a bite and say it's good even it sucks.*" Zack told him. Freddy nodded and dug his fork in and took a bite. He didn't know what he was supposed to expect, but he was very surprised at how good it was.

"Wow, this tastes amazing." Hey commented without realizing he said that out loud.

"Well, thank you very much Freddy." Zack's mom said. "David and I worked very hard making it."

"It's really great, I don't get alot of home cooked meals at home." Freddy told all of them.

"I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of meeting your parents. What are they like, may I ask?" Zack's dad (who is apparently named David) asked.

"My mom is working three jobs right now to support me and my brother. Speaking of my brother he's not home that often, he's usually out with his friends doing something stupid I'm sure."

"You're mother seems to work very hard, I admire that. And what of your father?"

"My father passed away a few years ago." Freddy said, looking down.

"Oh dear, I'm very sorry to hear that." Zack's mother told him. Zack put a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. Everyone felt awkward as the room grew silent.

"Freddy, I want to apologize for my outburst when you and Zack started dating." David said, breaking the silence. "My actions were rash and I judging you solely on rumors I heard from other parents."

"No, it's my own fault. I thought I was too good to just commit to a relationship and then with my dad leaving us, I thought dating around would make me feel better, but it didn't. It made me feel worse and now there's alot of people from middle school refuse to associate with me anymore. Honestly, I can't blame them. That's why I really want to thank you for giving me a chance that, by all accounts, I really don't deserve." Freddy finished up, leaving Zack's parents speechless.

"That was very mature of you to say Freddy, I'm impressed." Zack looked surprised hearing his father say that. "I'm impressed" were words he'd never heard his father say to him until Battle of the Bands and never again since.

After dinner, Freddy and Zack were cuddling on the couch. Freddy offered to help with the dishes, but Zack's parents insisted he was there guest and shouldn't have to clean. "I can't believe you impressed my father. Even I had a hard time doing that."

"I still can't believe he apologized to me." Freddy said. "It's getting pretty late, I really should get going."

"Do you have to babe? It's nice having you around." Zack told him.

"My mom's already got one kid that's never around to worry about, she doesn't need two staying out super late." Freddy explained.

"That's fair."

"Hey, we'll see each other tomorrow right? You don't need to worry."

"Sorry, I know I must sound super needy right now." Zack said looking away."

"Hey," Freddy said placing his hand on Zack's chin. "Stop be so negative about yourself." Freddy said leaning up and giving Zack a small peck. Zack smiled and pulled Freddy in for a longer, more passionate kiss. They pulled apart and hugged each other tight before Zack walked Freddy towards the door, They shared one more quick kiss before Freddy leaf into the night. He walked upstairs with his head hung low and went into his room to watch Freddy go from the window.

"You know something son," Zack turned around surprised as his father entered his room. "I think I was all wrong about Freddy. I give you my full permission to date him. Though, I feel you would regardless of what I say." He said with a wink before leaving Zack's room. Zack smiled and immediately grabbed his phone to text Freddy.

Freddy was almost to his house when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. His face lit up when he saw Zack's name on the screen.

Z: Hey Freddy, you really left a great impression on my dad tonight. He even gave me full permission to date you! I can't wait to see you tomorrow and kiss you freely. I'm going to bed, goodnight Babe.

Freddy smiled as he entered his house. He saw his mom sleeping on the couch and placed a blanket on her. He walked upstairs and saw a light under the door of his brother's room. He sighed before opening the door and saw him playing video games. "Hey, go to sleep. It's late, and we have school tomorrow." Freddy told him.

"Aw, but Freddy-" He started to complain.

"No but's mister, go to sleep." He said as he left the room, He went into his room, stripped off all his clothes (yes, he slept naked) and lied down and went to sleep with a smile.

 _ **Sorry for the short chapter this time.**_


	8. The Halloween Scene

"You know, if Ashton catches us, he'll still tell my dad what we're doing." Zack told his boyfriend who he had pinned against the lockers.

"Totally worth it." Freddy said with a smile. Zack laughed and smashed their lips together. It had been about a month since Freddy had dinner at Zack's house and ever since, the two of them had began to be alot more open about their relationship. They still haven't gone all the way, but neither of them seemed to mind.

"Freddy, you make me feel so hot." Zack moaned as he began to grind against Freddy. "I just want to rip off all your clothes right here and now."

"I know baby, I know. But I need to you wait a little longer. Can you do that for me?" Freddy said sticking out his lower lip.

"I'll wait as long as I need to for you." Zack said as he planted a kiss on Freddy's forehead. Standing immediately behind them was Summer with an unamused look on her face.

"Babe, don't look now, but iCarly's trying to kill us with her mind." Freddy said, dropping the voice he was using on Zack. Zack turned around and looked surprised when he noticed Summer.

"Oh, hey boss? She's technically our boss right?" Zack asked.

"If you two are satisfied," She said looking down. Freddy followed her gaze and saw the rather large tent in Zack's pants and began to blush like crazy. "I'd like to get to my locker now." She finished.

"Ok, catch you later Babe." Freddy said as he walked off towards his class. Zack began to leave also, but Summer grabbed him by the sleeve.

"Summer, as you've clearly noticed, I'm not really comfortable being around you like this."

"I don't care, hold this." She said handing him a text book. He begrudgingly took it out her hands as she opened her locker.

"So, you found any other shows for us yet?" He asked, trying to cool off.

"Does that hurt?" She asked.

"Does what hurt?" He asked confused.

"Getting **that** hard?" He gave her a look. "Sorry, I'm curious. Leonard never has pants on when he's that hard."

"I really didn't need to know that and in these pants, yes." He told her.

"As for your question, it depends. Are you guys ok with playing for the school?" She asked.

"I don't see why not." He told her.

"Then I got something for you guys. The school's having a Halloween concert soon and someone may have suggested you guys to the principal." She said trying to sound innocent.

"Was it...you?"

"No, it was Starchild from Kiss." She said sarcastically.

"Ok, you don't need to be so rude about it. I'll run it by at practice today."

"Cool, it's my parent's anniversary dinner so I gotta leave right after school. Book," She said holder her hand out. "Also you're welcome."

"For what?" He asked. She looked back down again. "Oh right," He said, feeling his hard on had left him.

* * *

"Boo!" Lawrence yelled, jumping out from behind the locked with a clown mask on which Tomika proceeded to remove.

"Nah, you looked better with it on." She said said giving it back to him.

"You're no fun anymore." He said pouting.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be annoying?"

"Not for another twenty minutes." He told her, which got a laugh out her. "You smiled, I'm off the hook."

"You're just lucky you're cute." She mumbled.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing,"

* * *

"Another day of Hell, here we come." Frankie said with a sigh.

"At least it's not all bad." Katie said walking up behind him, catching him by surprise.

"Yeah, I get to look at you." Frankie said, wrapping his arms around her. The two of them leaned in to kiss when Gordon came running up.

"Guys, guys." Hey said panting.

"Yes Gordon, what is it?" Katie asked annoyed.

"Have either of you seen Billy?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"No, what's up?" Katie asked, starting to become a little worried herself.

"We were supposed to be partners on this project in science class, but I didn't see him at all yesterday and I can't find him today either." He explained.

"Have you tried texting him?" Katie suggested.

"Yes, and calling him too. He hasn't answered at all." Gordon told her in a panicked voice.

"Ok, keep trying to get in contact with him. If it doesn't work, we'll just have to go to his house." He nodded before walking away.

"Where were we?" Frankie asked.

"Sorry, friends ghosting me is a major turn off." She said, heading into their class.

* * *

"Babe did you hear?" Freddy asked Zack as he entered his second class that they shared.

"About Billy? Yeah I did. I hope he's alright." Zack said.

"He should be. Billy's always fine, right?" Freddy asked.

"I'm not to sure about that. I didn't really think anything of it, but I noticed last week that Billy was wearing his sleeves pretty low." Zack told his boyfriend. Freddy's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"You don't think he-" Freddy's voice trailed off. "He wouldn't."

"Freddy, think about it. You know how hard his dad's been on him since his mom left. Especially with how he acts." Zack said, looking down. Freddy began to breath fast. He had never been that close to him, but he couldn't stand the thought of Billy hurting himself.

"We need to go to his house after school." Freddy decided.

"Gordon's already going if no one gets ahold of him. We can't all go it'll freak him out. Plus, we have practice. Summer booked us for the Halloween concert, and it's going to be sooner than we realize."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Freddy said, slumping into his seat. He knew they had to start practicing, but he really wanted to make sure Billy was alright. He'd just have to trust Gordon. _Never thought I'd trust him with anything._

* * *

Everyone went through the rest of the day worried. None of them could focus on their classes and Billy was all they could talk about when lunch came around.

Gordon looked and the clock as he sat in his last class. He counted every second, waiting for that bell to ring. He was tapping his foot faster and faster with the passage of time. These last two minutes of class felt more like three hours. Finally the bell rang and he bolted out of his seat and made his way towards the front of the school when he was stopped by Marta of all people.

"Marta, I really can't talk, I gotta get going." She held onto his hand tightly. "Marta, I gotta go check on Billy."

"Billy was the first friend I made here," She began. Gordon calmed down to listen to her. "I moved here in third grade. I didn't know anyone and I was too scared to say hi because I was afraid no one would like me. Billy saw me eating alone and he came up and talked to me. If it wasn't for him, I'd still might be the scared girl no one talks to. So, please make sure he's ok for me." She finished up.

"Don't worry," He said giving her a hug. "I will." He said before taking off. Billy's house was about half a mile from the school so it didn't take Gordon much time to get there. He ran up the the front door and banged on it hard. He stood there in silence for a few minutes before knocking on the door harder. The door swung open and a man stood in front of him. He looked down at Gordon looking both curious and angry. "I-I'm here to see Billy?" He muttered. The man moved aside and let Gordon inside.

"Upstairs. Second door on the left." He said walking away. Gordon shook and ran upstairs. He found the door the man (who he assumed was Billy's dad) told him and knocked.

"No one's home." He heard from the other side.

"Billy open up, it's Gordon." He said.

"Go away," Billy said from inside.

"Billy everyone's worried about you. You can't just disappear and not say anything. Now open the door and talk to me." He heard the door unlock from the other side. He opened the door and saw Billy under the covers on his bed. "How did you...you know what, nevermind." He sat down a pulled the covers down off of Billy. "God, you look awful."

"I feel awful."

"Are you sick or something?" He asked.

"Or something." Billy responded. Billy held up his arms and Gordon saw all the scar marks covering his arms.

"Why?" He asked in a stern voice.

"Because just once I want control over something in my life." Billy said in a shaky voice. "I'm not even gay, but I get punished for it anyways."

"You don't deserve this man, you gotta go right up to your old man, look him straight in the eye and tell him, 'I am **not** gay.'"

"Easy for you to say, you're not the band's stylist. You don't care about fashion. Obviously." He said looking him up and down. Gordon looked at him annoyed.

"Speaking of fashion, I think I can cheer you up."

"Change my personality to completely to the point where I like sports?"

"Better. Billy we got a gig." Billy raised an eyebrow, but still didn't look much better. "We're playing at the Halloween concert at school and we need you to make our outfits." That got Billy's face to light up.

"Leave me, I need you gone to focus." He said, returning to his usual, prissy tone before shoving Gordon out the door.

"Well, I guess he's feeling better." Gordon said to himself before leaving.

* * *

"Where is he?" Summer demanded as they waited in their classroom. It was the last day before the concert and still, no one had heard from Billy besides Gordon.

"He'll be here." Gordon reassured her. "We didn't really give him much time you know?"

"Well. if he doesn't make it, we'll just go to Spirit or something." Chiaki suggested.

"Don't bother with them, I have what you guys really need right here." Billy said walking in with different outfits on a hanger. "Let's see, Zack, Tomika, Katie," He said tossing their outfits to them. He had one for every member of the band.

"Wow, you really did come through." Summer said, impressed.

"Yeah, you're the best man." Zack said, giving a light punch in the arm.

"I know honey, I know." Billy said, walking out of the classroom. Gordon smiled and followed Billy outside.

"Hey Billy, I know how you did it, but thanks."

"No big deal. When I get in the zone, shit gets done."

"Hey listen, if you ever want to talk about-"

"Stop. It's fine." Billy said without turning around.

"No it isn't, you need to get out of that house before-"

"Gordon," Billy said turning around with a serious face before flashing a fake smile. "It's fine," Gordon watched as Billy walked away. Back to the house he wasn't wanted in.

"This isn't over." He said to himself before returning inside.

* * *

"Come on out guys, I'm dying to see what you look like." Billy whined waiting for the band to step out. It was the night of the concert and Billy was really excited to see everyone wearing his costume.

"Look, I like the outfit," Zack began, "but are the contacts really necessary? My eyes are so itchy."

"I'm sorry, do you know an easier way to make your eyes red?" Billy asked in a sassy sarcastic tone.

"...no,"

"There you go, any other complaints?"

"Me and Marta the same outfit." Alicia said.

"Like, the exact same outfit." Marta finished.

"Yeah…?" Billy asked.

"Nevermind, they said at once before walking out of the room.

"What a pair of witches." He mumbled under his breath.

"Are you gonna change?" Katie asked.

"Yes, I just wanted to you all in your costumes first." (everyone's outfits correspond with their part in the upcoming song) He said leaving the room with his. "Go ahead and start playing, I'll be there in time for my cue."

"You heard him let's go." Chiaki said walking out onto the stage in front of the school where they were met with a loud applause. Chiaki smile and pick up his guitar. "Happy Halloween everyone!" He said into the microphone. "Why don't we start tonight off with a classic? Hit it!" He said before the music started.

Chiaki: _Boys and girls of every age._

 _Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

 _Come with us and you will see_

 _This, our town of Halloween_

 _This is Halloween, this is Halloween_

 _Pumpkins scream in the dead of night_

 _This is Halloween, everybody make a scene_

 _Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright_

 _It's our town, everybody scream_

 _In this town of Halloween_

Zack: _I am the one hiding under your bed_

 _Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red_

Freddy: _I am the one hiding under your stairs_

 _Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair_

Chiaki: _This is Halloween, this is Halloween_

 _Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!_

Backup singers: _In this town we call home_

 _Everyone hail to the pumpkin song_

Chiaki: _In this town, don't we love it now?_

 _Everybody's waiting for the next surprise_

' _Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can_

 _Something's waiting no to pounce, and how you'll_

 _Scream! This is Halloween_

 _Red 'n' black, and slimy green_

 _Aren't you scared?_

 _Well that's just fine_

Backup singers: _Say it once, say it twice_

 _Take a chance and roll the dice_

Chaiki: _Ride with the moon in the dead of night_

 _Everybody scream, everybody scream_

 _In our town of Halloween!_

Katie: _I am the clown with the tear-away face_

 _Here in a flash and gone without a trace_

Lawrence: _I am the "who" when you call "Who's there?"_

 _I am the wind blowing through your hair_

Tomika: _I am the shadow of the moon at night_

 _Filling your dreams to the brim with fright_

Chiaki: _This is Halloween, this is Halloween_

All: _Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!_

 _Halloween! Halloween!_

Chiaki: _Tender lumplings everywhere_

 _Life's no fun without a good scare_

M&A: _That's our job, but we're not mean_

 _In our town of Halloween_

Chiaki: _In this town, don't we love it now?_

 _Everybody's waiting for the next surprise_

 _Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back_

 _And scream like a banshee_

 _Make you jump out of your skin_

 _This is Halloween, everybody scream_

 _Won't ya please make way for a very special guy_

On the screen behind them, silhouette of Billy in his costume

 _Our man Jack is King of the Pumpkin patch_

 _Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!_

 _This is Halloween, this is Halloween_

 _Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!_

M&A: _In this town, we call home_

 _Everyone hail to the pumpkin song_

At this part, a hole in the stage open and rises Billy in his Jack Skellington costume and makeup.

All: _La la la la la la la la la la_

 _La la la la la la la la la la_

 _Weeeeeee!_

The concert went off with a smash. Students danced all throughout the night and the band had just as much fun playing. After the show the band all celebrated back in their classroom.

* * *

"You guys sounded great up there and you looked even better." Summer told everyone. "And I think we can all agree we have Billy to thank for it."

"What?" Billy asked in shock. "I just did my job, that's all." He said shyly while rubbing his arm

"You did WAY more than what was needed buddy." Gordon said giving him a playful shove. "Seriously, thanks man." Billy smiled and held back the tears from coming.

* * *

"I still can't even begin to explain how cool it is to play with you guys." Chiaki said climbing into his car.

"Well, you better start getting used to it." Freddy told him with Zack at his side.

"Can I give you boys a ride home?" He asked.

"No thanks Mr. Tani. We'll walk." Zack said as they joined hands and left.

* * *

"Another job well done." Leonard draping an arm around Summer.

"Thanks so much Baby. Now, why don't we head back to your house for a celebration of our own?" She said in a seductive voice.

* * *

"I already told you, it's fine." Billy said walking away from Gordon.

"We both know you're full of shit. Just talk to me about it."

"There's nothing to talk to you about."

"Billy, this is not fine!" He said pulling down his sleeve and showing all the scar marks. Billy began to visibly shake. "Look, I know how much of a hard-ass your dad can be and how he isn't too friendly towards gay people. I know you're actually straight and all but…" He took a deep breath. "Billy, does he hit you?" Billy's eyes went wide, but before he could answer a car pulled up.

"William, get in." His father commanded. Billy looked at Gordon once more before climbing into the passenger seat.

"What's going on with you Billy?" He asked to the wind.

* * *

 _ **Sorry for the late release, I was busy and took one too many naps this week.**_


	9. It Came in Summer

"Three, two, one," Ashton counted down.

"Shit!" Zack yelled from upstairs. He came running down the stairs while still getting dressed. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Gonna be late!" He said running into the kitchen and grabbed a slice of bread and put it in the toaster. "Come on, come on, come on," He said tapping his foot.

"Hey dweeb where's the fire?" Ashton asked.

"I'm gonna be late for school it's already," He looked up at the clock. "Seven-thirty?" He said in confusion before his eyes went wide in realization. "I forgot," He said turning around.

"Went back an hour." Ashton said before he kept eating. Zack sighed and sat down.

"Well, now I feel like an idiot." Zack admitted.

"That's ok bro, you are." Ashton told him.

"Ass," He said with a laugh. After they finished eating, Zack grabbed his stuff and made his way for the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ashton asked as Zack was about to leave. Zack turned around and saw his brother holding a pair of tickets in his hands.

"Right," He said taking them and leaving.

* * *

He was walking down the street with his ear buds in, listening to Journey when Freddy skated in front of him and did a little trick on his board before he jumped off. "Hey," He said taking his ear buds out.

"Hey Babe," Freddy said with a smug smile before they leaned in and kissed. "You look tired as shit." He said as they joined hands and continued to walk.

"Yeah, I was in a hurry this morning. Thought I overslept."

"You're gonna freak we jumped ahead an hour." He said with a laugh.

"Hey, you know, we haven't really gone out in awhile."

"Yeah?" Freddy asked getting excited.

"So, I was thinking, if you're not busy this weekend," He said pulling the tickets out of his pocket.

"No way!" Freddy grabbed them. "You got tickets to see the Hex Girls!? Do you have any idea how impossible these are to get?"

"So, you wanna go then?" Zack asked, with a smile.

"Are you serious? Yes!" He said jumping up and down. "This is amazing! How did you even get these?"

"You could say I know a guy."

* * *

As they arrived at the school they saw Billy walking in through the front doors. "He's back!" Zack said as he ran ahead to go see him. "Hey Billy!" He shouted, Billy turned around looking like he was in serious need of sleep, but his energy immediately changed when he saw Zack.

"Hey hey hey, how's you Romeo and Julio story playing out?"

"Uh, it's fine. Look, are you alright dude? You look tired as Hell."

"Art never rests Zack, I can't afford to let it get too ahead of me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get interrogated by Gordon. Catch you later." He said before walking off.

* * *

As Billy turned the corner he saw Summer walking down the hall with a worried expression on her face. "Sum? What's wrong?"

"What? Oh, nothing. I just...have alot on my mind right now." She said walking past him.

"Ok, that was weird." He said continuing toward his class.

Summer entered Chiaki's class to find she was the first one there. "Late start today?" She asked.

"You're just hear early." He told her. "But then again, you're always early." He followed up.

"It's part of what makes me perfect." She said with a chipper smile.

"Perfect?" He asked.

"Of course. I always aim to be perfect." She said with a smug grin.

"I see," He commented.

"If you have something to say, just say it." She said, getting annoyed.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just think having to be perfect all the time wouldn't be perfect on the inside." Summer's faced dropped a bit. "But what would I know?" He asked as other students bean to enter the classroom.

* * *

Zack was in his class nodding off when Leonard poked his back. He yawned and turned around. "What's up?" He asked.

"Did you see Summer this morning?" Leonard asked, a bit off-put.

"No, did something happen?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, but I feel like she's been avoiding me since the night after the Halloween concert." He confessed.

"Why? Did something happen after the concert?" Zack asked.

"Well yeah, the same thing that always happens after a victory for either of us; she comes over to my house and-"

"You really don't need to finish that sentence, I get it."

"If you see her, could you tell her I'm looking for her?"

"Definitely." Zack told him.

* * *

At lunch, Summer was sitting alone in the usual spot where Freddy and Zack sit when they want to be alone. "Ok, calm down. Breath. Just face Leo, and tell him the truth, that you're-"

"Oh hey," She turned and saw Zack and Freddy facing her. "Leonard's been looking for you." Zack told her.

"I'll go get him," Freddy said running off.

"Wait don't," She said before Freddy got a chance to leave.

"I don't know if I can talk to him yet." She admitted.

"Why not?" Zack asked.

"Because...because….Freddy, could you…?" She asked nudging her head back the way they came.

"Uh, sure." He said walking back.

"*Grab Leonard,*" Zack whispered to him.

"*Right,*" Freddy said walking away.

"So what's wrong?" Zack asked, sitting down.

"Well, after the Halloween concert, Leonard and I-"

"He told me this morning, you don't need to elaborate. In fact, don't." Zack told her.

"Well, we ran into a sort of a problem." She said looking down.

"What's that?"

"Zack, I'm late."

"Huh?"

"You know…late…"

"I live in a house with one woman, you're gonna have to be more obvious." He told her.

"My period Zack! I'm late! I think...Leonard may have...gotten me pregnant." She muttered.

"Oh…oh man," He said with his eyes wide.

"What am I gonna do? I'm only fourteen, and what if my parents find out? Then what'll I do? How am I going to tell them that their perfect daughter got pregnant before she graduated college?"

"Well hey, they'll be made at first sure, but I'm sure they'll still love you."

"Zack, that isn't the problem. I need to be perfect, everything I do has to be perfect!"

"Summer hey, calm down. You need to relax. Just breath."

"You're right. I just gotta breath." She took a deep breath. "Just gotta relax and-"

"Summer! There you are! I've been looking all over for you. What happened?" Leonard asked coming around the corner.

"Zack!" She yelled.

"You're welcome," He said, leaving the scene.

"Summer, are you ok? Did I do something wrong? Come on, please talk to me." Leonard said, holding her hands.

"Leonard, I think we've had too much fun together."

"W-what do you mean?" He said getting worried. _This sounds like a breakup speech. Please let it be anything else._

"Leonard, I think I'm pregnant." She said quietly. _Anything but that!_

"Are you sure?" He asked, moving one of his hands to her shoulder.

"Definitely a possibility." She said resting her head on his shoulder. "How am I going tell my mom and dad?" She asked.

"Don't," He told her. She looked up at him confused. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure Baby?"

"It's my fault mostly, I'll take full responsibility for this."

"Alright. Let me take pregnancy test first. I don't want you to say anything before we know for sure."

* * *

"So, what's up with them?" Freddy asked.

"I'm not sure if Summer would want me to tell." Zack replied.

"Oh," Freddy sighed. "That's alright. If she doesn't want it to spread around, then it's a good idea that I don't know what's going on. I hope everything works out though." He said with a smile.

"Hey, she's our manager. If she can handle all of us, she can handle anything." Zack said with a laugh.

* * *

Later after school, Leonard was at his house waiting outside his bathroom for Summer to come out. Hoping. Praying to every God he could think of that Summer wasn't carrying a child. He heard the door open and Summer walk out, her face hard to read. "So, are you...?"

"Not pregnant," She said with a smile. Leonard let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank God! I was so worried." He said.

"I can't even imagine what my parent's reactions would've been." She said as the two embraced in a hug.

"Hey, Sum?" Leonard asked.

"Yeah, Baby?"

"Let's not have sex for awhile." He said.

"Deal." She said leaning up to kiss him.

* * *

"Wow, so Summer thought she was pregnant?" Katie asked as their group sat together at lunch the next day.

"Yeah, her and Leonard have been at it for awhile, but this was the first time they've had a pregnancy scare." Zack explained.

"Well, that'll teach I guess." Gordon commented.

"Are you ever not an asshole?" Tomika asked.

"Why mess with the status quo?" He asked sarcastically.

"Well, I for one am glad it's over." Frankie said to which everyone agreed.

"Are you ready for tonight?" Zack asked Freddy, who was resting his head on his shoulder.

"So ready, Babe." Freddy said looking up as he and Zack began to kiss.

"You guys are so happy, it's gross." Lawrence said.

"Don't be jealous." Zack sang, mocking him.

"Don't worry, I'm not. I'm not really looking for a relationship anyways." He told them. Tomika looked slightly disappointed and kept eating slowly fading out of the conversation.


	10. Brother, Brother

Ms. Huerta heard a knocking at the door and walked downstairs. She opened the door to see a police officer standing next to her son. He was looking away from her with an annoyed look on his face. "What did he do this time?" She asked with a sigh.

"He and his friends were downtown spraying anything they could." The cop told her.

"I see," She answered.

"As usual, I thought it best to release him into your care." He explained.

"Of course, thank you again." She said taking her son's hand a pulled him inside. "Same time next week?" She asked as a joke.

"On a good week Ms. Huerta, on a good week." He said leaving their doorway. She turned around and saw her son starting to make his way upstairs.

"And just where do you think you're going young man?" She asked angrily.

"Uh, my room?" He said, confused.

"Not yet you're not. Sit down, we need to have a talk." She said. He stopped and walked back down to sit at the kitchen table. The two sat in silence for a moment. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" She asked.

"I'm expressing my creativity?" He said half joking.

"That's not the problem. You can't go out breaking the law every night Bart."

"I'm not going out every night. Last night I was home right after school." He tried to argue.

"And you snuck out at two-thirty in the morning." She told him.

"So, what do you care?"

"I am your mother. Do you think I enjoy seeing you brought home in the back of a police car? This is the fifth time this has happened this month, God damn it." She exclaimed, getting up.

"I'm surprised you noticed." He said getting annoyed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means. You're always working. You're barely around anymore."

"I am doing what I can to support this family since….since-"

"Since Dad died! Just say it Mom! Dad died! I get it ok?!" He yelled and ran upstairs. She sat down and groaned. _Freddy, where are you?_ She thought.

* * *

" _We're gonna put a spell on all of you!"_ The Hex Girls sand as they finished up the last song. The audience applauded and roared with excitement.

"I still can't believe you managed to not only get tickets, but also get backstage passes. How did you do all this?" Freddy asked his boyfriend as they waiting to meet the band.

"Like I said Babe, I know a someone." Zack told him.

"Zack? Is that you?" Thorn, the band's guitarist and lead singer asked.

"I buy that, I mean her. Thorn, Dusk, Luna!" He said walking over and hugging each of them.

"I can't believe how much you've grown." She said as they separated. "You definitely have your dad's height. So, how's my favorite little cousin doing lately?" She asked patting his head.

"Wait, wait, wait, cousin?! Thorn is your cousin?!" Freddy asked, shocked buy the news.

"Sorry, did I forget to mention that?" He asked cracking a smile.

"Who's this little squirrely one?" Dusk, the band's drummer asked.

"This is Freddy, m-my boyfriend." He said, wrapping his arm around him, followed by a moment of silence.

"You're finally out huh?" Thorn asked with a smile.

"Yeah, it feels really good actually." Zack told her.

"Told you it would." She said with a smirk.

"She knew?" Freddy asked.

"Of course she knew. I tell her everything." Zack explained.

"Are you a part of that band Zack's in?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, I play the drums."

"Really? Well, why don't you show us what you're made of?" Dusk asked, holding out her drum sticks.

"What? Seriously?" He asked, his face lighting up.

"Do it now before She changes her mind." Luna, the band's keyboardist, told him. Freddy took her drumsticks in his hands and jumped onto the back of her drumset. He rolled his sleeves back and began to play a little bit of Zack's song, "Teacher's Pet." As he was playing Zack grabbed his cousins guitar and started playing along with him. The two went on but stop before they got before they got to Zack's solo. The Hex applauded the two younger teens.

"You got talent kids, that's for sure." Thorn told them.

"That means so much coming from you." Freddy said.

"Thorn's actually the one who taught me how to play in the first place." Zack told him.

"So that's why you're so good at it." Freddy said.

* * *

The two of them spent about an hour with the band but had to go eventually. Thorn decided to drop them off herself.

"Thanks for the ride Sally." Zack said climbing out of her car.

"Your name is Sally?" Freddy asked shocked.

"Don't go telling anyone ok?" She said with a laugh before she drove off.

"Are you sure you'll walk from here?" Zack asked. "I don't think Sally would've minded driving to your house." He told the drummer.

"I really don't mind walking Babe, I'm just happy to see you get home safe." He said. The two hugged tightly and shared a kiss before Freddy left and made his way home.

When he made it home, he found his mom sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. "Mom?" He asked. She looked up at him looking as if she just got done crying. "What did he do?" He asked with a sigh.

He sat down with her as she told him what happened with his brother came home. "Wow, I can't believe him."

"He's right though, I'm not home often enough."

"Hey, that's not true. You're doing the best you can for us Mom. I'm going go talk to him. Get some sleep ok?" He said as he made his way up the stairs. He walked up to his brother's door and knocked before walking in.

"Please, come in, I insist." He said sarcastically.

"How could say that stuff to Mom?"

"She's never home. You know it, I know it, there's no denying it."

"That's no excuse Bart. You can't yell at Mom like that!"

"Why not? Dad died and she has to go and never be around-"

"Stop blaming everything on Dad!" Freddy yelled as he began to breath heavily. "I get it, I miss him too. Maybe more," He said as tear began to run down his face. "But you can't take that out on everyone else. Now go to bed." He finished saying as he wiped the tears from his face.

"But Freddy, it's Friday, I shouldn't have to-"

"Bart, go to sleep. Right now mister." He said in a stern voice.

"Yes sir," Bart said in an annoyed voice. Freddy walked downstairs where his mother had made her way to the couch.

"Taken care of, for now I hope." He said.

"Thank you so much Freddy. I don't know how your father dealt with that boy. Or you for that matter." She said with a laugh.

"Come on, I wasn't that bad was I?" He said, starting to giggle as well.

"You were." She said completely seriously.

"Hey, do you wanna hear about the concert?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Tell me in the morning Freddy. I have to get up for work early tomorrow for work." She explained

"Again? Mom, they're killing ya." He said.

"Shhh, I'll see you tomorrow night ok?" She said before kissing his cheek and walking back to her room. "Goodnight Freddy,"

"Night Mom," He said, slightly disappointed.

* * *

The next morning, Bart woke up to a banging on the front door of the house. He got out of bed a tiredly walked downstairs and found the officer that usually drives him home. "Officer Dan? What are you doing here? It's too early for me to have done anything yet."

"Cute. Where's your mother?" He asked.

"She worked early this morning. She won't be back home until later." He said as he was about to turn around and head upstairs when Officer Dan stopped him.

"I have some...questions I want to ask you."

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I think it's best if you go on a little trip with me."

"This isn't a trick to arrest me is it?" Bart asked, growing suspicious.

"I assure you not, now go get dressed. I'll let you ride in the front this time." Bart still wasn't fully convinced, but didn't really see a way out of it. So he ran upstairs to change out of his pj's. He went into Freddy's room to tell him where he was going, but he must've left earlier because he was nowhere to be found.

"Ok, I'm ready." He said coming down the stairs.

"Great, let's get going." Officer Dan said as they left Bart's house and hopped into his police car.

* * *

They drove to the statue of Angelina Eberly (actual statue in Austin) to see that there was graffiti completely covering it. "Do you wanna explain this?" He asked the boy.

"I'm not sure how I can since I had nothing to do with this." He said bluntly.

"No?"

"Nope, notta." He said leaning against the car.

"Well, I find that hard to believe." Officer Dan said.

"Oh yeah, why's that?" He asked.

"Because I happen to have an eye witness that said they saw someone matching your description tagging it last night."

"Couldn't have been me. I was in your car last night."

"That was around midnight. They saw this happen about an hour before then and this just happens to be in between your house and where I found you."

"Well, it wasn't me. I wouldn't do that to this statue." He said beginning to panic.

"I'd hope not, because if you did do it, you'd be in alot of trouble." Officer Dan asked.

"It wasn't me, I know I've said that before about things I did do, but I'm telling the truth this time."

"Bart, I want to believe you, but all I have to go off of is your word, which doesn't holding up against someone saying they saw you." Officer Dan explained. "I'll take you home for now, but I'll be coming back later. Please find something to prove your innocence."

* * *

Officer Dan dropped him off at home and when he walked in, his mom was there. "Mom? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Oh, I just came home to grab something real quick. Don't mind me." She looked out the window to see the police car driving away. "Bart-"

"I didn't do it, I was in the front seat this time, I swear." He said quickly, trying to keep her from getting upset.

"Didn't do what Bartholomew?" She asked in a stern voice.

"The Eberly statue got tagged and Officer Dan thought I did it, but I didn't. You believe me right Mom?" He asked desperate for her to say "yes."

"I just don't know anymore Bart. I want to believe you, but I can't." She said before walking out the door.

"Mom…?" He said to the now empty room. He fell to his knees and felt the tear swelling up, the tears he'd been holding back since his father died. While Freddy had let his emotions all out on that fateful day, Bart did his best to not feel anything, but now, it was failing him.

"Rough morning?" He heard his brother's voice from the stairs and quickly pulled the tears back.

"Freddy? Where were you this morning?" He asked.

"Met up with my boys for some breakfast. What've you been up to little bro?"

"W-well, you see…" Bart told Freddy every detail, down to a T. Including the parts that made it impossible for it to have been him. "You believe me right Freddy?" He asked, hoping someone would take his side.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't do it." Freddy said.

"I did not tag the statue." He said in all seriousness.

"I believe you," Freddy told him. Bart smile and sighed in relief at hearing those words. "Now, we just gotta find who did do it. Who was with you last night?"

"Well, there was Jimbo, but he's too tall. Nelson, but he's **way** bigger. There was Louis but he's, well, black. Janey's a girl. Oh! Shelby was dressed in the exact same clothes as me! He's also my height."

"You have a guy friend named Shelby?" Freddy asked confused.

"Yeah? Is that weird?" Bart asked.

"A little, but not important right now. To Shelby's we go." Freddy said heading for the door. "You coming?"

"Hell yeah I am." He said as the two of them left.

* * *

They made their way to Shelby's house and asked his dad if he was home. He told them he was up in his tree-house, so they went around back. "Wait, Shelby's...difficult, we need a plan." Bart said.

"I think I've got one." Freddy said with a smile on his face.

Bart climbed up into the tree-house where Shelby was up there reading a comic book. "Hey there Shelby,"

"Bart-Man," He said, flashing him finger-guns. "What's up?"

"Did you hear what happened to the old Eberly statue?"

"No, what happened?"

"Someone tagged it last night,"

"Really?" Shelby asked smirking while Bart was turned around.

"Yeah, and worst of all, Officer Dan thinks I did it."

"Wow, what a shame."

"So, I was thinking, since you live close to the statue too, do you know someone that could've done it?"

"Ok, how dumb are you?" Shelby asked, breaking his facade.

"What?" Bart asked, pretending rather well the sound surprise.

"You're such and idiot Bart. I tagged it, And I dressed like you so you'd get the blame for it."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"Because you always get your way. No matter what happens, things work out for you, but they never work out for me. It's not fair. So I decided, why not make something not work out for you? So I stole your clothes while you were in gym class and wore them while I tagged the statue before meeting up with the rest of you guys last night. Pretty ingenious wouldn't you say?"

"I would say so. And I think the police will too." Bart told him.

"Totally. Wait, what?" Shelby asked shocked. Bart pulled out a small device out of my pocket. "What the Hell is that?" Shelby asked him.

"My brother's recorder, he uses it for band practice." Bart said smugly.

"Gimme," Shelby said trying to grab it.

"Oopsie," Bart said dropping it out the window. When Shelby looked down he saw that Freddy had caught it. Shelby climbed out of the tree-house and tried to make a break for it, but ran right into Officer Dan. He looked up at him, his eyes wide.

"Son, you are in a whole heap of trouble." Officer Dan told the boy.

* * *

Later that night, Ms. Huerta returned home from work to find Bart and Officer Dan sitting at the table. "Let me guess, he-"

"I didn't do it Mom! And I proved it too!" Bart said jumping out of his seat and hugging her.

"What?" She asked, hugging him back.

"I told the truth. I said I didn't do it and I didn't. I even help bust the kid who did do it Mom!"

"What are you talking about Bart?" She asked, still not understanding exactly what was going on.

"Your son played a vital part in catching the young boy that grafitti'd the Eberly statue. I was very surprised when your older boy called and said the two found the kid."

"Bart, you mean that you really didn't?" She asked. He nodded excitedly. "Oh my special little guy, come here!" She said pulling him back into a tight hug. "I am so proud of you."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that." He said as he pulled apart, tear streaming down his face.

"Bart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just so happy right now." He said before hugging her again.

"So, that's what I did today." Freddy said over to phone to his boyfriend.

"Wow, sounds like a pretty fun adventure. I'm so glad Bart didn't do it. He's a good kid." Zack commented.

"I wouldn't go as far to say that Babe." Freddy said before Bart walked in. "Just a minute, he said into his phone. "What's up buddy?" He asked.

"Uh Freddy, I was wondering something. Could you teach me how to play drums like you?" He asked. Freddy smiled.

"Sure buddy. We'll start tomorrow." The two smiled before Bart stepped out of his room.

"Hey, it's getting pretty late, can I call you tomorrow?" Zack asked.

"Sure thing, talk to you tomorrow Babe." The couple blew a kiss into the phone before hanging up an going to bed.


	11. Marta vs Alicia

"I'm serious Babe, Bart's picking up the drums so fast, I'm running out of things to teach him." Freddy explained to his boyfriend as they walked through the school halls. School had ended for the day and the two were making their way to band practice. "I've only been teaching for a week too, it's crazy."

"You think he'll be better than you someday?" Zack asked, partially as a joke.

"In his dreams," Freddy responded. "Look, I just said he was good, I didn't say that-"

"Why can't you just admit that I'm right?" Marta asked angrily.

"When you're wrong, you're wrong." Alicia told her.

"And you are factually wrong." Marta told her.

"Big word, did it take you long to think of it?" Alicia asked, amused.

"They're still fighting?" Zack asked.

"They've been at it for a week now, did you really think they'd stop?" Chiaki asked annoyed.

"This is ridicules, you're a teacher, just stop them already." Summer scolded.

"They nearly bit my head off last time I tried to intervene." Chiaki told her.

"Fine, allow me." Summer said walking up to them. "Girls,"

" **WHAT?!"** They both yelled. Summer turned around and walked back to the other side of the class.

"Ok, not trying that again." Summer said once she rejoined the group.

"Let's just start practice already." Freddy said heading over to his drumset.

"Spazzie's got the right idea. Places everyone!" Chiaki announced. Marta and Alicia turned away from each other and walked over to their places. The bad was about to start playing when they started at it again.

"Hey, that's my microphone!" Marta yelled.

"Excuse me? That's the one I always use." Alicia retorted.

"No you don't, it's purple, your's is the green one."

"No we agreed you get the green one because it looks better with your hair."

"We're not gonna get anything done today are we?" Katie asked.

"I don't even think they'd notice if we left right now." Tomika commented.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late peasants, I had P.E. and had to make myself look presentable again. What'd I miss?" Billy asked walking in.

"What does it look like?" Zack asked. All the band members we slumped over their instruments looking tired. Marta and Alicia had gone back to yelling at each other.

"Does anyone actually remember what they were fighting about?" Lawrence asked.

"I doubt even they remember." Freddy told him.

"Girls, girls, time out." Billy said walking over to them. "What seems to be the problem?" The girls started whining at the same time and rather loudly. Billy just stood there nodding.

"Can he...understand them right now?" Summer asked.

"Wow, that is a problem." He said, with the rest of the band surprised her knew what they said. "But I have an idea, why don't we all go to the mall later and we talk this over while we go shopping-"

"I'm not going anywhere with her!" They both yelled.

"Well, I tried." He said walking away from them before they went back to yelling at each other. The band realized they weren't going to get anything done today and decided to pack it in and leave.

* * *

"And I thought I was mad when someone else got to the Dave Grohl drumsticks. They don't even know what they're fighting about anymore" Freddy told Zack as they made their way back home. "Hey, you seem distracted, is something wrong?" He asked.

"I'm just thinking, if two people as close as them can start fighting, then could that happen to us?" He asked.

"Babe, don't be silly. We may not agree on everything, but we'll never fight that bad. I swear." He said, taking Zack's hands in his and kissing him on the nose.

* * *

Tomika walked inside her house and already heard yelling. "Bro, I know you took my car out last night!" She heard her broth T.J. yelled.

"You can't prove a thing!" Her other brother Tyrone yelled. Tomika was the youngest of four kids. She had three older brothers. Tyrone and T.J. fought alot and her oldest brother, Taylor, didn't live with them.

"Then where did my gas go? I had a full tank when I got home last night."

"I don't know, maybe you left the car going all night,"

"You are a terrible liar! How would I do that with no one hearing?"

"At it again?" Tomika asked her mom, who was trying to read a book and ignore the sound.

"Do they ever stop?" She asked a rhetorical question.

"Gotta deal with it all day at school, only to come home a deal with it here."

"What so you mean honey?" Her mother asked.

"It's Marta and Alicia, they've been fighting for over a week now. We can't even get any practice in it's so bad." She told her mother. "Didn't even think they **could** disagree on anything."

"Wait, do you hear that?" Her mother asked. Tomika listened closely but could hear what her mom was talking about.

"Hear what?"

"Exactly, they stopped." She said satisfied.

"Already? Hold up, what?" She said going into the living room where her brothers were completely calmed down. "Um, excuse me?" She asked.

"Wassup sis?" T.J. asked.

"Weren't you two about to bludgeon a second ago?" She asked.

"Yeah so?" Tyrone asked.

"Tomiks, we're family. No matter how many times we fight, it's not gonna last long." T.J. added. She thought for a second before she finally got an idea.

"Thanks you guys. I gotta call Zack." She said leaving for her room.

* * *

The next day at school Marta opened up her locker and found a letter inside of it. "Marta, come to the gym, I have a special surprise for you. Gordon?" She read. She smiled and made her way there before class. However, when she got there, Alicia was the one she found. "What are **you** doing here?" She asked annoyed.

"Me? What are **you** doing here?" Alicia asked.

"Got a letter from Gordon," She told her.

"I got a letter from Tomika,"

"We've been setup," Marta realized.

"Took you long enough," Alicia said.

"Shut up, I'm out of here," She said heading for the door.

"Me too," Alicia said following her to the door. But, before they could leave there was a huge blast of smoke as spotlights turn on towards the stage.

"That's right!" A voice rang through the gym. As the smoke cleared, Marta and Alicia saw Chiaki on stage. "Twas I who wrote the letters!" He said with a triumphant voice.

"We weren't thinking that." Alicia told him.

"Yeah, we literally don't care. Can we go?" Marta asked.

"No." He told them. "Your bandmates, me included, are sick a tired of you two fighting. It's not only getting in the way of practice, but look what it's doing to the two of you. You guys are fighting over everything. Now I know you refuse to talk it out so instead, you're going to sing about it."

"Like on the spot or…?" Alicia began to ask.

"Zack, give them the lyrics." Zack emerged from the stage and handed each of them a piece of paper.

"I wrote this overnight, so don't kill me if it sucks." He said. Chiaki picked up his guitar and started playing.

"Guess we don't have a choice." Marta sighed.

 _Alicia: B-b-better in stereo_

 _Marta: B-b-better in stereo_

 _A: I'm up with the sunshine (M: let's go!)_

 _I lace up my high-tops (M: oh, no!)_

 _Slam dunk, ready or not_

 _Yeah, show me what you got_

 _M: I'm under the spotlight (A: holler)_

 _I dare you come on and follow_

 _You dance to your own beat_

 _I'll sing the melody_

 _A: When you say, "Yeah," I say, "No."_

 _M: When you say stop," all I wanna do is go, go go,!_

 _A: You (you) the other half of me (me)_

 _The half I'll never be_

 _The half that drives me crazy_

 _M: You (you) the better half of me (me)_

 _The half I'll always need (need)_

 _We both know_

 _We're better in stereo_

 _A: And when we're together (oh, yeah)_

 _In sweet harmony, oh, so rare_

 _M: If we could just agree,_

 _We would go major league_

 _When you say, "Yeah," I say, "No."_

 _A: When you say, "Stop," all I wanna do is go, go, go!_

 _M: You (you) the other half of me (me)_

 _The half I'll never be_

 _The half that drives me crazy_

 _A: You (you) the better half of me (me)_

 _The half I'll always need (need)_

 _We both know_

 _We're better in stereo_

 _M: You say, "It's wrong," I say, "It's right."_

 _A: You say, "It's black," I say, "It's white."_

 _M: You take and left and I take a right_

 _A: But at the end of the day we both know_

 _We're better…_

 _Both: You (you) the other half of me (me)_

 _The half I'll never be_

 _The half that drives me crazy_

 _You (you) the better half of me (me)_

 _The half I'll always need (need)_

 _We both know_

 _We're better in stereo_

 _M: B-b-better in stereo_

 _A: Better in stereo_

 _Oh, oh_

 _M: Better in stereo_

 _Oh, oh_

 _A: Better in stereo (b-b-better in stereo)_

 _Oh, oh_

 _Both: Better in stereo_

The two of them joined into a hug by the end of the song and the whole band (who were around the gym watching) clapped and sighed in relief. "Marta, I'm so sorry I said I was prettier than you." Alicia confessed.

"And I'm so sorry I brought up that snack shack." Marta continued, though no one knew what they were talking about at this point.

"And I'm so sorry I said your butt was too big to fit on the bus seat." Alicia admitted.

"You did?" Marta asked.

"Not to your face." She told her,

"Oh who cares? You're my best friend and I love you!"

"Oh I love you too!"

"And next time, just ask if you wanna borrow one of my hair clips." Marta told her.

"Wait. A. Fucking. Minute." Freddy said walking up. "A hair clip? A fucking hair clip?! We had to listen to you two bitch and argue for over a week because of a goddamned hair clip?!" He yelled.

"Well yeah," They both said at once.

"I'm done. I'm so done right now." He said walking out.

"I'll go deal with that." Zack said following him out.

* * *

"I'm glad you two stopped fighting." Gordon said to Marta as they left the school.

"Me too," She agreed.

"It'll be nice to see you guys joined at the hip again." He joked.

"I'm not sure about that." She began.

"Why not?"

"Alicia's going to be joining the basketball team so she'll be pretty busy." She told him.

"Well, if you ever need someone to kill time with, I'll be there." He told her. She blushed a but before placing a kiss on his cheek and running off towards her house, leaving him with his jaw hanging open and hand over where she kissed him.


	12. Zack and Freddy's Christmas Vacation

_**Aight people, this could be a long one so buckle up!**_

* * *

Summer walked slowly up to Chiaki's desk, holding a completed test in her hands. He, along with everyone else smiled anxiously. She placed it on his desk and he immediately pulled out a Santa hat and cried, "Winter Break!" The school erupted with cries of victory as students stormed the halls trying to get out before the school had time to change its mind.

"Yes! Finally, we get a break from this place!" Tomika said as she and her group of friends exited the school.

"I don't know I might actually miss it." Gordon told the group before they all burst out laughing.

"I guess I will miss seeing all you guys for awhile." Zack said.

"Well, one of us." Katie muttered gestured to Freddy.

"So, what do each of you have planned?" Lawrence asked.

"Same as always, head up to the icy tundra of Alaska to see Gran Gran. Living the dream." Katie said with sarcasm.

"Well, Hanukkah is a special time at my house." Gordon started, "We light the candles, open presents and the whole family gets together to insult me and judge my life choices. So I'll be in my room alot." He finished up.

"My parents are hosting our family's Christmas party this year, so the whole family is going to be staying at our house." Frankie told them.

"Even your aunt Edna?" Katie asked.

"The one that snores the walls?" Freddy added.

"The same," He answered with a groaned.

"Oh, that's gotta suck." Freddy said with a laugh. "I feel so sorry for you man."

"What about you Zack?" Lawrence asked.

"California to see my dad's parents like we usually do."

"Sunny, warm California? Lucky!" Katie told him.

"You've clearly never been California." He told her. (author's note: it gets cold here. Never enough to snow, but it gets cold.)

"Gee, what are you doing Freddy? I'm so glad you asked Freddy." He said to himself to get everyone's attention. "I'm heading out to Tennessee to visit my Grandma's farm."

"You're a hick?" Tomika asked, surprised.

"On my dad's side yeah."

"Well, there's our ride," Tomika said, referring to herself and Lawrence, as his dad pulled up in front of them. "Stay cool people." She said as she climbed into the back.

"Text me when you guys land." Lawrence said, fist bumping Zack before getting in the car and driving off.

"I'll think of you everyday we're apart." Katie told Frankie as they held each other.

"The thought of you will help me survive this Christmas." He said before the two shared a kiss a parted ways.

Gordon stood awkwardly alone next to Zack and Freddy. "Well...bye." He said walking off. Zack and Freddy joined hands and made their way home.

* * *

"I wish I could with you. I'm sick of boring old California." Zack said disappointed. (author's note: me to Zack, I need a vacation.)

"Then you should come with me." Freddy told him.

"Oh yeah, that'll go over well-are you insane?" He asked.

"You should know the answer to that by now." Freddy replied.

"Look, my dad may finally be cool with you, but there's no way he'll let me go with you."

"Just ask Babe. Worst case scenario, he says no and I'll see you in January."

"Fine," Zack said caving. "I'll ask him."

"Cool, because we're here." Freddy said as they arrived at Zack's house.

"Do or die. I'll tell you what he says. Later Babe." He said before they shared a kiss and Zack went inside where his parents and Ashton were all there.

"Oh perfect Zack, you're home. Now hurry up and get yourself packed. We're taking off pretty early tomorrow-"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you guys about that. Mom, Dad, can I go with Freddy to spend Christmas with his family?" Zack asked.

"Of course," His mom told him.

"Absolutely not," His dad said at the same time. The two then looked at each other.

"David, kitchen now." His mom said as the two of them left the room. "What is wrong with Freddy now?" She asked once their kids were out of ear shot.

"Nothing Helen, but our son is **not** vacationing alone with his boyfriend."

"My parents let me vacation with you when we were young, remember?"

"Of course I remember, that's why Ashton's here." He told her. "Do you even know what goes through a teenage boy's mind?"

"They won't be having kids, I can guarantee that David."

"That is not my point and you know it." He told her.

* * *

"They're fighting aren't they?" Zack asked.

"You know what the kitchen means." Ashton told him. "Gotta admit though, you got balls asking Dad to go with Freddy."

"I am so tired of California you have no idea." He told him before their parents walked back into the room.

"We've reached an agreement." Their father declared. "After much consideration and your mother's...heavy persuasion, we'll allow you to spend Christmas with Freddy and his family." He said with a sigh.

"Really?! You're serious?! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Zack said hugging his parents before running upstairs to his room.

"We made the right choice," his mother said with a smile.

"I hope you're right." his father replied.

* * *

The next morning, Zack was dropped off in front of Freddy's house. He climbed out of the car with his suitcase and a backpack and took a deep breath before turning around to say goodbye to his parents. "Are you sure you have everything? Maybe we should drive back to the house real quick and make sure."

"Helen, you've got to stop babying the boy. It was your idea to let him go."

"I know, but this is his first Christmas away from home."

"Mom, I have everything I'm sure."

"Ok, ok. Promise you'll call us every single day?" She asked.

"I promise Mom,"

"Ok, bye Honey." She said leaning out of the window and hugging him.

"Bye Mom, bye Dad, bye Ashton!" He said as the car pulled away. He walked up to the door and knocked. Freddy opened the door half asleep, but his face lit up upon seeing his boyfriend there.

"Baby!" He said hugging him tightly. "I'm so glad your parents said yes! You're going to love it, I promise." He said walking Zack into his house.

"At this point, I'd take Katie frozen wasteland vacation." Zack told him.

"Sweet, low expectations. Don't have to try that hard." He said with a laugh.

"When do we leave?" Zack asked.

"Tomorrow morning." Freddy's mother said walking downstairs.

"Oh hey Ms. Huerta," Zack said.

"Please, call me Eva."

"Can't, it'd feel weird." He told her.

"It'll be a pleasure having you along for the trip."

"Thanks so much for letting me go with you guys."

"No problem, my mother-in-law went on for two hours last night, she was so excited to meet you." She told him.

"Hey Mom, is it ok if Zack sleeps in my room tonight?" Freddy asked.

"Of course Freddy." He started to celebrate before she spoke up. "You can sleep on the couch then." She said with a laugh.

"Damn it," He said, getting off his high horse. Bart walked the down the stairs still in his pj's and yawned.

"Hey Freddy, hey Mom, hey Zack." He said before stopping in his tracks. "Zack? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Zacks, going to be coming with us to Grandma's farm this year."

"How come Freddy gets to bring someone?" He asked.

"Are you dating anyone?" Their mom asked.

"If I say Milhouse, would you believe me?" Bart asked.

"Hm, no." She told him.

* * *

"Zack? Zack, wake up." Freddy said shaking his boyfriend awake. Zack groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "You've been sleeping since we got off the plain. We're almost there." Zack blinked a few times and looked out the window at the landscape and gasped. There was snow everywhere.

"Wow, are you seeing this?" He asked, still in awe.

"You don't see snow alot do you?" Freddy asked with a laugh.

"Well, it did snow once in California, but I was really little and it melted right away." The taxi drove through the seemingly endless land of snow until a large farm came into view in the distance and dropped them off not far from the house. They pulled their stuff from the back and approached the front door. Freddy's mom rang the doorbell.

"I'm coming! It'll be just a minute!" They heard from the other side. The door opened up and standing before them was an elderly woman with her hair pulled back in a bun, wearing a pink dress with a heavy sweater on and a pair of glasses rested on the end of her nose. "Well, butter my backside and call me a biscuit! If it isn't the woman who stole my boy's heart. How's life been treating you these days Eva?"

"It's good to see you too Rita." She said hugging the older woman.

"And how are your boys doing?" She asked.

"Yo Grandma where's the presents?" Bart asked.

"Well Bart, last time I saw you, you were knee-high to a grasshopper!" She said tussling his hair. "And Freddy! Come here you," Freddy walked up.

"Hey Grandma,"

"You're certainly becoming a handsome young man, you sure your my boy's son?" She asked pinching his cheeks.

"Love you too." He said wincing. "Can you let go now?" She smiled and stepped back.

"So, you must be Zack. I've been so excited to meet you." She said.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you ma'am."

"Well, come on in! It's freezing out here." She said, turning around and heading inside. They picked up their things and followed her in. "Jacob! Joshua! Get in here!" She shouted into the house.

"Coming Momma!" Two voices responded, followed by two identical men running in.

"They're here?" One asked in a thick accent. "Why didn't ya tell us they were here?"

"And who's he? I don't recognize him." The other said pointing at Zack.

"Don't point. It's rude behavior. Take their stuff up to their rooms." She told them.

"Yes Momma." They said at once before taking their luggage from them.

"Hey Freddy," One said.

"Hey Bart." The other said following him up the stairs. Zack looked and Freddy puzzled.

"My uncles, Jacob and Joshua. Not the brightest people you'll meet." He explained.

"They certainly aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but family is family and I love em all the same. Now, sit down, relax. Y'all're so stiff." She encouraged.

"Are Uncle Jesse or Aunt Luane here with their kids yet?" Freddy asked.

"I talked to em last night, they'll be in early tomorrow." She told him.

"Ok, can I show Zack around?" He asked.

"Please do, it'll save me from going out into that." She said with a smile.

"Come on," Freddy said grabbing Zack's hand and heading upstairs first. They walked into a room with several beds and all their stuff in it. "This is where we'll all sleep obviously. You, me, Bart and all my cousins."

"You have alot of them I take it?" Zack asked.

"Oh yeah, my dad's side of the family is **huge**. He had three brothers and my grandma had six siblings."

"Well, I know what your relatives do for fun." Zack said with a smirk on his face.

"Each other?" Freddy asked.

"Beat me to it."

"Bathroom's across the hall and the stairs to the attic are behind the grandfather clock." He explained making his way back downstairs.

"Wait, wait, wait, only one bathroom?" Zack asked, flabbergasted.

"Deal with it. Not everyone gets their own personal bathroom."

"What a world we live in," Zack said, following his boyfriend down.

"Downstairs we got the living room, rec room, dining room and kitchen with a door to the cellar. Other door to the cellar is on the outside of the house." He continued explaining as he put his heavy coat back on and tossed Zack his own. The two stepped out into the open field of white. There's the barn, obviously and the cowshed, tower silo, toolshed. Greenhouse, but not really useful when it's this cold. Fields are completely snowed over too."

"Can we go to the barn? I just wanna see what's inside."

"I don't see why not." Freddy said as they made their way over. "Not much to see really, just hay and horses-" He started to say as he was pinned against the wall and Zack began to roughly kiss him. "If you wanted to shove your tongue down my throat, you should've just said so." He said with a smirk before they went back to making out. Zack lifted one of Freddy's leg while slipping his other hand under the drummers shirt and felt up his boyfriend's defining abs. Freddy meanwhile, had one arm draped over Zack's shoulders while running his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. Zack pulled his hand out from under Freddy's shirt and began to undo his belt before Freddy grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "S-stop. I don't wanna do it my grandma's barn." He said pushing Zack away lightly.

"It's ok, I understand." Zack said, placing a hand on Freddy's shoulder.

"Let's get back before they get suspicious." Freddy said as they left the barn and headed back to the house. "Hey, we're back!" Freddy announced as the two of them entered.

"Oh perfect, could you two come upstairs and help me get the decorations from the attic?" His grandma called.

"Where's everyone else?" Freddy asked ad he and Zack reached the top of the stairs.

"Bart went out with the twins to chop down a tree while your mother went out into town to pick up a few things." She explained.

"Right, Zack, help me move the clock." The two of them got on either side of the clock and lifted it just enough to move it against the other wall. "We'll be right down Grandma." Freddy. Told her as he and his boyfriend walked up the stairs into the dark attic and turned the flashlights on their phones on.

"Hey Freddy," Zack began.

"What is it Babe?" Freddy asked.

"About back in the barn, I don't want to seem like I was pressuring you into it or anything like that. I mean, I really want to. I mean not harass you, but like just-"

"Babe, it's fine." Freddy said.

"Is it though?" Zack asked. Freddy walked up and pulled Zack into a soft kiss.

"It's alright Zack. You know that I...have really strong feelings for you. Nothing's gonna change that." The two smiled shyly at each other.

"Hey, is that the box we're looking for?" Zack asked, pointing the flashlight on his phone at a box labeled, "X-Mas."

"Either that or my grandma's messing with us." Freddy said, grabbing one side of the box with Zack grabbing the other and taking it downstairs. When they made it down, Bart had made it back with the twins and a tree.

"Perfect timing boys. Crack that box open." Rita told them. Freddy ripped the box open excitedly and began pulling out lights and ornaments and also found a white cowboy hat and looked at questioningly.

"Hey, uncle Jacob, uncle Joshua, did this belong to either of you?" He asked as it seemed to small for an adult's head.

"Nah, not me." Joshua told him.

"I think it might've been your dad's before he-" He began to say before getting elbowed in the stomach by his brother.

"This belonged to Dad?" He asked, looking at it. "Hey Grandma? Do you think I-"

"I'm sure he'd want you to have it." Freddy nodded and put it on his head. He looked back at his grandma. "You look just like him." She said with a small smile. Freddy smiled big and felt his eyes begin to tear up. He composed himself and turned to Zack.

"How do I look?" He asked.

"Looks good, it really suits you." He told him.

"Well, thank ya pardnah," Freddy said in a fake accent, getting a chuckle from Zack.

"Ew, stopping being so gross when I'm around." Bart complained.

"You'll act different when you're older." Freddy assured, pulling out more ornaments.

"Iget, you're supposed to wrap the light from the bottom up!" Jacob said, pulling on the lights.

"No you're not! You're supposed to start from the top and work down numnuts."

"Still glad you're here instead of with your family?" Freddy asked, handing Zack and ornament.

"Definitely," Zack told him.

* * *

The next day Zack woke up late to the sound of loud voices downstairs. He sat up and shook his head, before getting up and heading downstairs. When he arrived he saw that there were nearly three times the amount of people that were there yesterday.

"Oh Zack, there you are." Freddy said from the middle of the room. "Come on in, meet the rest of my family. This is my uncle Jesse and his wife Luane and their kids Nora, Charlie, Lorraine, Henry, Sarah, Jake, their first set of twins Jessica and Kim, Mark, Mike, and their other twins, Kyle and Nigel.

"You certainly weren't kidding about having a big family. It's nice to meet you all." Zack said waving to all of them.

"We're all gonna head outside in the snow for awhile. You coming?" Charlie asked, in a deep voice. Charlie looked similar to Ashton, only taller and a little more muscular. Needless to say, Zack found him really attractive.

"Um, yeah let me just get my jacket on." Zack said heading back upstairs.

"So Nora, should we prepare for one more this year?" Their Grandma asked Jesse's oldest child, gesturing towards her belly.

"Oh no, this one won't be arriving for some time." She said with a small laugh.

"Ok, I'm ready if you guys are." Zack said coming downstairs.

"Sweet, let's go." Freddy said getting up. "Lorraine are you coming?" He asked.

"And get my new boots wet? No thank you." She replied, while applying nail polish.

"I'll never understand girls," Sarah commented.

"You're a girl," Jake said unnamused. They rest of them stepped outside into the frozen tundra and all went in separate directions to find their own place in the snow.

"So, has your uncle ever tried not having sex?" Zack asked once he and Freddy were out of earshot of the younger kids.

"If I was straight and a wife that looked like her, I wouldn't." Freddy admitted. "But they planned on only having eight, so four of them are accidents."

"I'd hope a dozen kids wasn't planned." He said before he felt a snowball hit the back of his head. "Did you just-?" He asked turning around.

"Maybe," Freddy said still holding another one.

"Oh, you are so going down!" He said bending down to make one himself.

Freddy's cousin, Mark, looked over and saw Freddy chasing Zack with a snowball and saw them run under part of the toolshed and made a one quickly and through it near the top of the shed, causing a large amount of snow to fall off the roof and land on Freddy, knocking him over. Once he climbed to his feet, he saw Zack running over to his cousin in the distance. "This. Means. War!" Freddy shouted.

* * *

"They've been out there along time." Eva commented taking a sip of hot cocoa.

"They were all cooped up the way here. They need to be out running around." Jesse said smiling. "I just wish I could get this one outside without needing a mall." He said gesturing to Lorraine.

"Mall? Where?" She asked, taking an earbud out.

"False alarm sweetie." He told her. She groaned and put her earbud back in. "You would not believe how much convincing it took just to get her out here."

"Bart wasn't too excited either once he realized the internet barely works out here." Eva admitted.

"Kids and their phones," Rita started. "You know when I was their age-"

"Here we go again." Everyone in the room said at once.

"Wait, do you all hear that?" Luane asked. Everyone quieted down to hear and walked outside. The outside which had once been a mostly flat plain of snow, but now it better resembled a war zone. Complete with walls and dugouts and what looked like tunnels dug through the snow.

"Why don't we just leave them to their own devices for awhile?" Jesse said, before turning around and heading back inside.

* * *

"Kyle, Nigel, do you have the enemy in sight?" Freddy asked the twins as the peaked through the looking hole in one of their walls.

"Does Bart count?" Kyle asked.

"He chose his side." Freddy told them bluntly.

"Was it really smart to send out Bart, Captain Zack?" Mike asked.

"Freddy's determined sure, but he wouldn't open fire on his own brother."

"You clearly don't know your boyfriend as much as you think you do." Jake commented.

"Wait, Freddy's walking out alone." Jessica told them. Everyone looked out to see Freddy approaching his younger brother in the middle of the field.

"Hey Bart. You out here by yourself?" Freddy asked.

"Yeah, Freddy I made a mistake." He said looking down.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I should've chosen your side. You're my brother. You kept me from going to jail. I was wrong siding with Zack."

"Hey, it's alright. It's not too late. Come over to my side." He said kneeling down and holding out his hand.

"Now!" Bart shouted as Zack and everyone on his side rushed from the dugouts towards Freddy and surrounded him.

"You let your guard down. Bad move Babe." Zack said smirking.

"Oh geez, whatever will I do? Eagle! Eagle!" He cried out. Zack and forces looked around and saw Freddy's troops pop out from behind the walls surrounding them. "So, who let their guard down?" He asked in a smug voice.

"Wait, where's Sarah?" Charlie asked, noticing her absence from the scene taking place. Zack let out a small smile.

"What are you planning Zack?" Freddy asked.

"Well you see, she was kind enough to let me on her 'dark gift' as she called it."

"Oh no," Freddy said, his eyes growing wide. He looked around panicked. Not knowing what to expect from his cousin's mind. He couldn't see her at all, couldn't hear her either, making him more worried about what was going to happen. "Retreat!" He shouted, but upon Kim taking one step, she sunk down into the snow. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked around as all the cousins on his side started falling down into the snow.

"Funny thing; dig down under the snow and it makes it easy to crumble under the weight of a person." Zack commented.

"Fine, I'll just retrace my steps and-" He was cut off when his feet stuck on his way back.

"Knew you were gonna do that." Zack said and Freddy struggled to free his feet. "You may have started this war, but I'm finishing it." Zack said taking a snowball smacking Freddy square in the face with it. Zack and all those on his side started cheering.

"Gotta say, that was impressive strategizing Babe. You really know how use people's gifts. As irritating that may be for others." He said glaring at Sarah who had dug herself to the surface.

* * *

"Alright everyone, come on inside now! It's getting dark and your food's getting cold." Their grandma called from the doorway. Everyone ran inside and found their own spot at the large table and began eating.

"Where's Freddy?" Eva asked.

"I think he went out back." Charlie told her.

"Oh, of course." She said in realization.

"What's out back?" Zack asked.

"Go visit him Zack. I think it'll help." He looked confused at first but got up and went through the back door and saw Freddy out in the field of snow. As he got closer he noticed two graves in front of him.

"Hey Freddy? Are you coming inside?" He asked when he got close.

"Oh, yeah. I'll be right there. Come here, I want you to me two people." Zack walked up beside his boyfriend and felt him grip his hand tightly. "This is my grandpa. He passed away before I was born so I never got the chance to meet him, but Grandma would tell me and Bart stories about him all the time. And this," He said taking a pause, "is my dad." Zack's eyes widened.

 _I almost forgot Freddy's dad passed away not too long ago. I can't imagine how hard it must be on him. I mean, I don't get along with my dad very well but I can't imagine him not being here anymore._

"I really wish you could've met him. He-he never knew I was gay, but I know he'd still love me. He would wouldn't he? I mean, he was my dad, he wouldn't…." His voice trailed off as tears began to slide down his face. Zack pulled him into a tight hug and began rubbing his back.

"Freddy, you're right. He was your father, he'd love you no matter what. I swear. I thought my dad wouldn't approve of my being gay, but he didn't care. He didn't exactly like who I chose to date," Freddy laughed a bit, knowing he meant him. "But if he ever loved you, he would no matter what."

"Thanks Zack, I needed that. Man, I wish you could've met him, he would've liked you."

"I think I would've liked him too." Zack said with a smile. Freddy looked up the two leaned into a deep, romantic kiss. When they broke apart, they looked at each other to the point where they got lost in each other's eyes.

"Zack, I….I….'m really hungry, let's go inside." He said walking off. Zack looked confused but followed him back towards the house.

* * *

"Alright, anyone under thirteen, y'all can open a present now!" Rita announced. It was Christmas Eve. Zack and Freddy had grown even closer over the holiday. His family as well had grown used to Zack being around and had come to enjoy his company.

All the younger kids picked out one present each and began to unwrap them. "Oh cool! A new yoyo!" Kyle said opening his.

"I got one too!" Nigel said.

"I wanted the blue one!" Kyle cried.

"Well, I want to green one!" Nigel replied.

"Trade?"

"Trade."

"Wow, roller blades. I can't wait to try these out!" Mike said with a smile.

"On the count of three. Ready?" Jessica asked. Kim nodded. "One,"

"Two,"

"Three!" The yelled at once open tore the wrapping paper off.

"Wow, it's huge!" Kim said in awe at the site of their new doll house that was more than half their size.

"Oh boy, can't wait to try to fit that in the car." Luane mumbled. "Come on Jake, just open one." She pleaded with her son. "Here, open mine. I promise you'll like it." She said, handing him a box.

"Fine," He said with a sigh. He opened the box and his eyes went wide when he saw what was inside. "You really…?" He asked pulling out a pair of black skinny jeans.

"I know how much you wanted them, so I felt you were old enough to have them."

"Wow, thanks Mom." He said finally smiling.

"My turn!" Sarah announced as shx picked up a present with her name on it. She quickly ripped it open and gasped. "Finally!" She said pulling out a slingshot.

"Did you get her that?" Luane asked her husband.

"I most certainly did not." Jesse told her.

"I did." Nora told her parents.

"How could you?" Luane asked.

"It's all she's wanted for years, just let her have it." Nora told them.

"Glad I don't live with her." Freddy commented. "Knowing her, she'll think of alot more things than just shooting people with it." Zack nodded in response.

Mark opened his up quietly and pulled out a telescope. "So cool," He said.

"Here Bart, open mine." Freddy said passing him a gift.

"It's not gonna explode or something is it?"

"Just open your present." Freddy told him. Bart shrugged and opened it and grew excited.

"You got me a switch?! This is amazing! Thanks so much Freddy!" He said, hugging his big brother.

"How in the world did you afford that?" Zack asked.

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Freddy said with a smile.

* * *

Later that night, Zack woke up at almost midnight. He looked around and saw that everyone else was still sound asleep. He walked downstairs and turned the Christmas tree lights on and sat down in the chair facing the window and stared out into the snow covered field.

"Couldn't sleep?" He heard someone say and turned around and saw his boyfriend at the bottom of the stairs.

"No, I don't know why so I thought I'd just look out at the snow for awhile."

"Same here. I'll make some cocoa." He said walking into the kitchen. Zack got up from his chair and followed him. "Having a good time?" Freddy asked.

"Yeah, it's been great spending Christmas with you." Freddy smiled. "A-and your family too, they're all great."

"Marshmellows?" Freddy asked.

"Oh yeah, please." After their cocoa was done, hey walked back out into the living room and Zack eyes went straight to the window. "Oh my God, Freddy look." He said. Freddy looked out the window and saw the snow falling down. "Isn't that amazing?" He asked sitting back down.

"Yeah, I love watching the snow fall every year I'm out here." Freddy said sitting down on the amr of the chair Zack was in. The two of them sat for awhile and just the watched as they enjoyed being with each other for the night. "Hey Zack?"

"What's up Babe?"

"I wanted to tell you something."

"Yeah?" Zack said turning toward Freddy.

"I know it's kind of soon, ok it's way soon since we've only been dating for like four months. But I just want you to know that I...I love you." He said shooting his head away. "Gah, I knew it was too soon. I'm such an idiot." He said standing up and taking a few steps away.

"Freddy," Zack said standing up.

"You know what, forget it. I shouldn't of said anything."

"Freddy," Zack said, turning him around and tilting his head up to look him in the eyes. "I love you too." Freddy's eyes looked wide as the two came together and began to kiss each other hard. Zack, once again began to unbutton Freddy's pajama shirt, only this time, Freddy didn't stop, didn't struggle, didn't even seem to notice or maybe he didn't care. They made their way over to the couch and laid down while continuing to make out. Zack sat up and and removed his shirt.

"Before we go any further, are you sure you want to do this?" Zack asked. Freddy was breathing quickly and nodded. "I need to hear you say it." Zack reaffirmed.

"Yes. I want to do this with you Zack." Freddy said after a deep breath.

"Ok, we'll go slow at first." Zack told him leaning back down.

* * *

Zack woke up the next morning and looked down to see Freddy still asleep in his arms. He couldn't help smile remembering the night they had. Freddy shook himself awake and looked up to see Zack looking down at him. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," Zack responded.

"That was…you were…." Freddy was trying to find the words to say.

"We were great." Zack said, finishing up.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Rita said arriving in the living room.

"Grandma!" Freddy cried jumping up, before quickly grabbing the blanket to cover up his still naked body. "We were just….well you see….it's just that-"

"Get dressed you two," She said with a chuckle. "You don't want anyone else to catch you like that." She said leaving the room.

"You're grandma's amazing." Zack said after an awkward silence.

"So are you, now get dressed." Freddy said getting up to grab his clothes. Soon afterwards, everyone began to wake up and came to gather in the living room and each of them had a turn at opening presents. Some were happy with what they got under the tree, others not so much.

* * *

"Is that all of them?" Rita asked, Everyone seemed to have opened their presents, but she was just making sure.

"Uh, there's one more." Zack said shyly, handing a box out to Freddy.

"For me? You didn't have to get me anything Babe." He said taking the box.

"Well, sure I did. You let me come out here to spend Christmas with you and your family. I couldn't just not repay the gesture." Freddy smiled and opened the box. What he found inside shook him to his core.

"You got me the Dave Grohl signed sticks! How on earth did you get these?! When I called the music store the said that someone had already bought...them…" He looked back and his boyfriend to see a sneaky smile spreading across his face. "You little weasel, come here!" He said pulling Zack into a hug and kissing his cheek repeatedly.

"Freddy, cut it out." He laughed, trying to get out of the drummer's arms.

"While we're swapping gifts, I got you something too." Freddy said pulled a small box out of the pocket of his robe.

" **I** didn't have to get you anything? You brought me all the way out here **and** got me a gift."

"I know, I know. Just open it." Freddy said excited. Zack slowly opened the box to see what looked like a heart shaped necklace. Well, half of one at least, it had cracks down the middle. He looked at it questioningly before taking it out.

"FJ? Aren't those-" Zack began to asked before he was cut off by Freddy.

"My initials," He said pulling out another necklace that also has a half heart shape to it. He held up the other one to show a "ZM" engraved on it. "And they fit together look." He said putting them next to each other. They did what he said. Lining up the cracks perfectly to for a full heart. Zack put his hands over his mouth as tears of joy began to roll down his face. "I mean it Zack. I love you." Was all Freddy said before the two embraced in a romantic kiss lasting what felt like eternity.

"What that say on the back?" Zack asked seeing a timestamp now that the necklaces were together. "Twelve thirty-six?'

"That's what time it was when...when you told me you really liked me. When we shared our first kiss." Freddy said in a shy voice before putting his necklace on. "I had it made so that we're wearing each other's initials so that, even when we're far apart, we're still together. Merry Christmas Zack."

"Merry Christmas Freddy."


	13. Cheer up Lawrence

"Ashton, would you go wake up Zack? I'm afraid he might be late for school."

"Sure Mom," He said getting up from the table and walking upstairs. "Hey idiot, wake up. It's time for school." He said knocking on Zack's door. When he didn't hear any noise on the other side, he decided to go in. "Dude, seriously. You need to-" He stopped dead in his tracks when he entered and saw Zack and Freddy cuddled up in bed together, completely naked and only with a blanket covering their lower waists. Ashton look surprised, but still walked over and shook Zack awake. Zack opened his eyes a little and looked at him questioningly. "School time. Wake up your boyfriend and get a move on." He said before leaving the room. Zack nodded and tapped Freddy on the shoulder.

"Freddy, wake up." Freddy looked up and smiled at the sight of Zack above him.

"Hey Babe. Round three I think we're on?" He said with a laugh.

"It's Monday-" Zack started before he was interrupted.

"No."

"Time for school."

"No, I wanna stay in bed with you all day." Freddy whined.

"Me too, but we have to go." He said getting up and grabbing his uniform.

* * *

"Zack and Freddy weren't here this morning, do you think they're alright?" Katie asked her boyfriend as the two sat down in their class.

"Freddy told me he was going to spend the night with Zack last night. I'll give you one guess where they are." He explained.

"Right…" She said turning towards the front of the room as their teacher entered.

"Great, we're officially late for class." Zack said as they walked into the building right as the bell rang.

"Worth it though huh? I'll see you later Babe." They shared a quick kiss as they ran in their opposite directions.

* * *

Later at lunch, Freddy finally caught up with Frankie. "Ok, without going into detail, because i really don't want to hear about it, what's it like?" Frankie asked his best friend.

"What's what like?" Freddy asked, although he already knew answer.

"You know, assault with a friendly weapon? Attacking the pink fortress? Bam-bam in the ham?"

"You want me to tell you about sex with Zack, just say it." He said unamused.

"Yeah, what's it like to finally get laid? I mean, it probably wasn't easy to get a 'yes' out of him."

"Actually, he had to get a yes out of me." Freddy told him.

"For real?"

"Yeah, I wanted to wait like my parents did. But, staying up alone with him on Christmas Eve just...did something you know?"

"And now you're hooked?"

"Pretty much."

"Back to my point, what's it like?"

"Well, look at Zack," He said pointing to the table that they were heading to, which he was already sitting at. "What do you think of him, just based on his appearance?"

"He looks quiet, nice, kind of shy maybe?"

"Forget all that." Freddy told him. "He's a complete freak in bed. He's like an animal, it's insane."

"Really?" Frankie asked surprised.

"I'm actually on the receiving end most of the time."

"Ok, now that's gotta be a lie."

"I'm serious bro. Ok, I can tell you more later." He added quietly as they arrived at the table.

"Hey, what were you guys talking about?" Zack asked.

"Oh, you know Babe, guy stuff." Freddy told him.

"Freddy, I'm a guy, That doesn't work."

"Damn it,"

"So, how was your vacations?" Zack asked everyone else.

"It was warmer outside." Katie said. "I'll never take feeling all my toes for granted again."

"I couldn't get more than three hours of sleep until my relatives left." Frankie told everyone.

"My mom asked me to spend some time with the family and I did. Just long enough for each one to get an insult in." Gordon said with a groan.

"I had a good time. I barely get to see my oldest brother, so having him home for any amount of time is great." Tomika said with a smile. "How about you Lawrence?" She asked.

"Oh, it was fine." He said without looking up from his food.

"Hey, something wrong man?" Zack asked.

"No, no, it's nothing." Lawrence said, still not looking up.

"Larry, were supposed to be best friends again remember? You can tell me anything."

"Maybe later," He said getting up and leaving the group.

* * *

"Freddy, count us off." Chiaki told the drummer at practice.

"One, two, one two three four!" He cried as the band began to play.

" _Slit the throat of reason and reality_

 _Cut myself and scream for their insanity_

 _Wake up to this nightmare that will never end_

 _The main attraction of this twisted master plan."_

"Ok, stop." He told everyone. "That was good, take five. Except you Lawrence, come here." He said the keyboardist. "Hey, what's up? You were totally off just now. You're usually on top of things."

"Sorry, I'm just kind of...tired I guess."

"Hey, you can talk to me alright? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing ok? Let's just go again, I'll get it this time." The band got going again, but once again Lawrence had trouble keeping.

"Cut!" Chiaki yelled. "Lawrence, what's going on? You're all over the place today."

"Guess, I'm just one giant screw up huh?" Lawrence shot at him before running out of the room.

"Well, I wouldn't go **that** far." Chiaki muttered.

"I better go talk to him." Zack told everyone running to catch up.

"I'll go too," Tomika said following him. They ran outside and found Lawrence laying down on the grass outside looking up. Tomika and Zack walked over to him and sat down on either side of him and looked up where he was.

"What the Hell are we looking at?" Zack asked a long silence, getting a laugh out of the other two.

"When did you get funny?" Lawrence asked.

"That just happens when you spend the holidays with Freddy."

"Speaking of the holidays, what happened L?" Tomika asked, placing a hand on Lawrence's shoulder.

"It's just that...I saw all my cousins again and all of them are doing so good. They all have great careers, alot of them are getting married. And then I just started to ask myself, 'What am I doing with my life?' 'Am I ever gonna be as well off as them?' Stuff like that you know? It doesn't help that my grades are tanking and I can't even get a girl to notice me." He said with a sigh.

"Lawrence, you're gonna do fine man." Zack reassured him.

"Yeah, you're fifteen. You got plenty of time."

"I guess," He said, not fully convinced.

"Ok, you know what you need? You need a day out with your best friends. Let's go." Tomika said, attempting to lift him to his feet.

"I really don't want to." He said, trying to stay down.

"No, she's right dude, come one." Zack agreed, grabbing his other hand.

"Fine, lets go to the mall I guess." Lawrence begrudgingly agreed.

"I'll text everyone that we're taking off." Zack said.

* * *

"Here," Tomika said, handing Lawrence and cone or chocolate ice cream.

"I usually get it in a bowl." He told her

"Take it," She said getting annoyed.

"Guys, Office Max is having a sale on post-it notes." Zack said with an enthusiastic face. Earning a confused look from Tomika.

"You're a weird kid, you know that Zack?" Tomika asked, rhetorically. "Now Lawrence, what about-" She stopped and looked around seeing that Lawrence was no longer standing next to her. "Where'd he go?"

"Tomika look," Zack said pointing to a store with Lawrence inside talking to a girl maybe a year or so older than them. "Do you think…?" Tomika was looking on annoyed.

"You really think so?" Lawrence asked, with a nervous laugh.

"I mean, I don't usually date freshman, but I don't think I'd mind if it was you." She replied.

"O-ok. So, do you wanna go out this weekend, then?" He asked.

"I'll see you then cutie." She said with a wink. He left the store with a smile and returned to his friends.

"What was that about?" Zack asked, amused while Tomika was turned around.

"I was just looking when I saw her wave me over. She told me that she found me cute and now we have date."

"Wow, that's really cool dude."

"If you're still having trouble with school, I'll study with you." Tomika said more as an order than an offer.

"Uh, thanks Tomika." Lawrence said confused.

"No problem, we're friends right?"

"Uh, yeah, of course we are."

"Ok, I'm ready to leave now." She said, still annoyed.

"What's with her?" Lawrence asked.

"I may have an idea." Zack said to himself as realization struck him.

* * *

"Hey, I'm gonna have a date over, so don't come down to the basement for at least an hour or so." Ashton said, poking his head into Zack's room.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Zack responded.

"That's a shorter list list than you think it is." Ashton said, walking away. Zack laughed and turned back to his phone.

" _So, you really think Tomika has a thing for_ _ **Lawrence?!**_ " Freddy said over the phone.

"Why else would she get mad seeing him talk to a girl. You should've seen it Babe. She got so annoyed when he said he got a date with that girl."

" _So...what do we do?"_ Freddy asked.

"Nothing, it's not our business."

" _What?"_

"Lawrence finally has a date and if the girl really likes him, why should break them up? We can't force him to go out with Tomika." Zack explained.

" _She'd probably kill us if we did."_ Freddy admitted.

"Just let it be for now, if they want us involved they'll talk to us." Zack told him.

" _So, you busy right now?"_ Freddy said in a flirty voiced.

"Nope, not that it matters, but Ashton's the only one home. And he's liable to be down in the basement for a loooong time." Zack said in the same tone of voice as Freddy.

"I'll be outside in five minutes."

"Come straight to my window, I'll have the ladder propped up." Zack said with a giggle before they both hung up.


	14. Match Made

"So, the date went well?" Zack asked, still half asleep.

"Yeah, really, really well." Lawrence said with a sigh. "I know it's only been one date, but I think I actually really like Esme. She's so sweet and funny and I feel like she really gets me, you know?"

"Don't you think you're saying that too soon dude?"

"You told Freddy you liked him before you even started dating."

"Yeah, but I met Freddy when I was six and I found a crush on him ever since. You met Esme just over a week ago. I just think you should slow down is all." Zack explained.

"Ok, I still wish we were able to go out on Valentine's Day though."

"What happened?"

"She had work, nothing I can do about that." He said with a shrug. "I plan on surprising her today though."

"That's really nice of you." Lawrence smiled and held up a bracelet. "What's that?" Zack asked.

"It's her bracelet. She left it at my house when she left."

* * *

Tomika listened to their conversation from around the corner. She was growing more jealous buy the day to the point where she did her best to actively avoid talking to Lawrence as much as possible, but still followed him around to keep and eye on him.

"Creepy much?" Freddy asked, causing Tomika to jump.

"Shut up, I'm just making sure things are ok." She said, peeking back around the corner.

"Just talk to him." Freddy told her.

"What makes you think that'll work?" She asked sarcastically.

"You see that guy Lawrence is talking to? That's my boyfriend, we're dating because I told him." Freddy explained.

"I know," she said getting annoyed.

"Then why don't you tell Lawrence?" He asked.

"Because...he's got a girlfriend now." She said without looking back at Freddy.

"And why didn't you tell him before?" He pressed on.

"Because...I…" She mumbled something under her breath.

"What was that?" Freddy asked.

"Because I couldn't ok?" She asked.

"Why not?" Freddy continued to asked. "Why is it so hard for you to just tell him that you like him?"

"Because I'm scared! I'm scared of what he'll say. What if he says he doesn't like me back? Then our entire friendship is over and I can't do that."

"And what if he says yes? Have you thought about that?" Tomika remained silent. "If you don't even take the risk then you'll get your happy ending." He told her right before the bell rang and he headed off.

* * *

After school, Summer made her way to the mall so she can get a haircut. She walked into the upstairs hair salon and took her usual chair. "What're you looking for?" The hairdresser asked.

"Just taking off a few inches, nothing too fancy." She told the slighter older girl.

"No problem."

"Hey Babe," A guy's voice came from the door.

"Just one minute hun." The girl said to Summer. "Baby!" She said running over

"I know you can't make it today, so I thought I'd surprise you." He said, picking her up and spinning her around. "Hey, where's your bracelet Babe?"

"Oh crap, I must of left it at Ash's house last time I hung out with her. I'm sorry Baby."

"Hey, it's ok Babe. At least you know where it is. Well I gotta go, don't wanna keep you from your job." He said as they shared a quick kiss and he left.

"You got a boyfriend?" The girl asked summer as she walked back.

"Yeah, he can be a pain sometimes though." Summer said, her eyes trained on her phone.

"Boys huh?" The girl said with a laugh.

* * *

"If all else fails, I'd say just kiss him." Freddy told Tomika as they and Zack had all gone to the mall to meet up with Lawrence after he said hi to Esme. Zack and Freddy were trying to get Tomika to tell Lawrence.

"Yeah, that won't jump to far ahead of things." She said, rolling her eyes.

"It worked on me." Zack told her.

"That's cause you had the fortune of liking each other." She said, sitting back in her chair.

"You really got a one track mind don't you?" Zack asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tomika shot back at him.

"...nothing," Zack whispered sitting back.

* * *

"Esme?" Another voice came from the door. Summer looked over and saw Lawrence with a small bouquet of flowers.

"Larry? What are you doing here?" The girl asked walking over. "Are those for me?" She asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to surprise you. And give you your bracelet back. You forgot it at my place."

"Oh my God. Thank you so much."

"If you're not busy this weekend, would you like to go out again?"

"I'll have to check my schedule, but I'd love to." She said with a smile. Lawrence left and Esme walked back over to summer. "Looking good."

"Um, yeah, thanks. I gotta go." she said running out after Lawrence.

* * *

"Guys, what are you doing here?" Lawrence asked, running into the other three.

"Tomika has something she wants to tell you." Freddy said, pushing Tomika forward a bit.

"Um…I want to say...that I really-"

"Lawrence!" Summer ran up and stopped to catch her breath. "That girl of your's, you gotta listen, she's-"

"I know, she's great huh?"

"No, listen she's got a boyfriend." Summer said, finally catching her breath. She needed to run more. Everyone looked shocked by what just came out of her mouth.

"You're talking about me right?" Lawrence asked.

"No, I was getting my haircut and this really tall blond guy came in and the two called each other Babe and kissed each other."

"Oh," Lawrence said, his voice dropping. Everyone went silent.

"Listen Lawrence, I-" Tomika said, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder, but he took a step back.

"I need to go think things over." He said before he ran off.

* * *

Lawrence didn't talk to anyone for the entire weekend. His friend's tried to go to his house, but his father said he wasn't feeling well. Monday morning came and Tomika felt odd going to school without him in the car. However when she arrived at school, he was already there talking to Marcus like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Lawrence? What happened? Are you ok?" She asked walking up to him.

"Tomika, I'm fine."

"Even after Esme-"

"Tomika, I'm fine. I overreacted." He said calmly.

"Overreacted? What are you talking about?" Tomkia asked, still confused.

"Esme just needs help figuring out who she wants. So I'm going to show her that it's me." He said with a smile.

"Y-you really think that?" She asked.

"Of course, wanna help?" He asked, excited.

"I-uh…" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lawrence was so far into denial, he still thought he had a chance with her. _Time to set this boy straight._ "Of course I'll help out." She said with a smile. _Um, hello? That's not what we agreed on me._

"Really? Great! I already have an idea of what we need to do. We just have to wait until after school." He said before the bell rang and he headed off to class.

* * *

"You're really gonna help him?" Zack asked Tomika after school. The two were waiting outside for Lawrence as Zack, being Lawrence's best friend, was also being brought to "help."

"I mean, I...want him to be happy."

"I see…" Zack said leaning in close.

"Ok, I hoping he'll realize she's a bitch and I'll be there for him." She said, caving.

"Not a bad plan all things considered." Zack told her.

"I'm here!" Lawrence said running up. "You both ready?" He asked, to which the both gave a nod and they made their way to the mall.

"So, what's the plan?" Tomika asked.

"Ok, she really loves whales, I remember her bracelet had a whale on it. I'm going to go into the ball pit on the lower floor and make a whale shape, the same as her bracelet. I'll need both of your help to make it and then one of you to go to her hair salon to get her up to the second floor so she'll me standing in the middle and know that I care about her more." Zack and Tomika looked at each other questioningly.

"If you think that'll work then let's get to work." Tomika said.

"Really?" Zack whispered.

"Really." She said in a serious tone. The three of them got to work moving the balls out of the way. Tomika went up to the second level early to get a bird's eye view of their progress.

* * *

"Do you really think this'll work?" Zack asked.

"It has to. Otherwise I'll be alone again. I can't think of anyone else who would want to be with me." Lawrence said. Zack looked up and Tomika watching.

"Yeah, me neither." Zack muttered.

* * *

They worked for just a little longer before Tomika told them it was a perfect match and she left to go get Esme.

"Is Esme here?" Tomika asked, walking in to the hair salon.

"Yeah, I'm here. Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm a...friend of Lawrence's. He has something to show you."

"Larry does? Hey Barb, I'm gonna take my break now. Lead the way." The two walked in silence most of the way, Tomika still resenting her for dating Lawrence as well as using him when she already has a boyfriend. "How much further?" She asked, getting annoyed.

"We're just about there." Tomika told her, without turning around. "Ok, we're here. Take a look or whatever." She said, crossing her arms.

"Larry?" Esme asked, looking down and seeing what he made.

"What do you think?" He called up.

"What do I think? What am I looking at?" She asked.

"It's a whale. Isn't that your favorite animal?" He asked.

"No, my favorite animal's a zebra." She told him.

"But your bracelet's got a whale on it." He said.

"Oh that? Brett gave me that last year." She said.

"And would you like to explain who Brett is?" Tomika said facing her.

"Well...um, he's uh-"

"He's your other boyfriend." Lawrence said from the ball pit. "Isn't he?"

"...Yeah. Sorry Larry."

"Was I not good enough?"

"I-"

"Don't answer." Tomika told her. "You weren't good enough from him anyways. You made a big mistake passing up a great guy like him." Esme looked back down at him before she walked away.

* * *

The three of them were walking home. Lawrence had his eyes trained on the ground while Zack walked beside him and Tomika walked behind them both with her arms crossed.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about Esme. I'm sure the right person is out there somewhere."

"Thanks man," Lawrence responded without looking up.

"Well, there goes that day." Tomika said aloud.

"Tomika, now's not a good time." Zack told her.

"I just can't believe I wasted the whole day doing this."

"Tomika-"

"No, Zack it's fine." Lawrence said cutting him off. "What did you want to do today?" Lawrence asked.

"You really want to know?" She asked. He nodded. "Nothing much. Just this." She said pulling him in and kiss him full on the lips. He was surprised at first but then began to kiss back.

"You mean, this whole time-" Lawrence started to say before he got cut off.

"For a guy wearing contacts, you are so blind." She said with a smile as they continued to kiss.

* * *

"That stubborn Freddy." Taylor said as she sat in her room with her friend Marcy. "I can't believe he still thinks he's gay and living out that fantasy with Zack Mooneyham of all people. I was hoping to make him mine again before Valentine's Day, but I couldn't even get his attention in months!"

"Maybe he's really happy with Zack?" Marcy suggested.

"Don't even joke like that Marcy. What should I do?" She asked, sitting down. "Wait, I got it." She said with an evil smirk.

* * *

 _ **Hey, sorry about the late update, I've been busy since school started back up and also lazy because of who I am as a person. I'm hoping that I'll go back to my normal update schedule soon, with new chapters of this story every week and new chapters of Thundermans every week. So, I'll hopefully see you next week.**_


	15. Happy Birthday Zack

Zack slowly woke up to the sound his alarm blaring. He turned it off and slowly sat up and yawned. After getting dressed he made his way downstairs to what seemed like an empty house. _That's weird. It's Thursday, everyone should be awake by now._ Right as he was thinking that all the lights turned on.

"Surprise!" His family shouted as they all popped out from where they were hiding. "Happy Birthday Zack!"

"Wow, it's my birthday already?" He said with a giggle.

"You say that every year." His mother told him.

"And it gets less and less funny every time." Ashton added.

"Fifteen, you're going to be able to learn how to drive soon." His fathered mentioned.

"Also terrifying," Ashton chimed in again.

"Ok, that's enough from the peanut gallery." Zack said before taking a bite out of his breakfast.

"Now you come straight home after school so we can all go out to eat tonight as a family." His father told him. His mom fake coughed next to him. "And you can bring Freddy." Zack perked up when heard that bit of information before he continued to eat.

* * *

He was walking his way to school, humming along to the music playing in his headphones when he felt a soft kiss planted on his cheek. He looked over to see the face of his boyfriend walking beside him carrying his skateboard still wearing his dad's old hat. "Hey Babe," He said talking his headphones off.

"Hey, so how's the birthday boy?" He asked in a teasing voice.

"Pretty good, but I bet he'll be better once he sees what his boyfriend got him." Zack said back.

"Good one, but it won't be that easy. You'll see after school Babe." He said, wrapping his arm around him.

"Oh, I almost forgot my parents said you can come to our family dinner tonight."

"Sweet. Your dad terrifies me, but I'll go because I love you." He said before kissing him again.

"I love you too."

* * *

When they arrived at school the two went their separate ways toward class. Zack ran into Gordon since they had first period together.

"Morning Gordon,"

"What's so good about it?" He asked, his head resting on the desk. Gordon wasn't really a morning person.

"You forgot it's birthday again didn't you?" Zack asked. Gordon looked at him straight faced and slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. "I'm only accepting this because you're tired." Zack said, taking the money.

"What'd Freddy get you?" Gordon asked.

"He hasn't given it to me yet. He said he'll give it to me after school." Zack told him.

"Oh my God, he forgot to get you something." Gordon said with a gasp.

"What? No he didn't." Zack argued.

"Why else would he not give you your present yet?"

"Because he wants it to be special." Zack said with a bit of hesitation.

"You know who your dating, I'm surprised he's been good to you this long." Gordon told him.

"Ok, Gordon you need to shut your mouth. You don't know Freddy like I do." Zack said very aggressively.

"Ok, didn't mean to step on your toes." Gordon said turning away.

* * *

"Oh Freddy, you'll be mine soon enough." Taylor said aloud to herself as she watched Freddy entering his second class with Zack in his arms. "And you'll finally ditch that boy toy of yours.

"Who are you talking to?" Her friend Marcy asked from behind her.

"Quiet, I'm monologuing." She tells her. "Now come on, we need to go over my brilliant plan for later." She said walking off down the hall.

* * *

Later at lunch, Zack was eating with his usual group of friends.

"Here you go Zack, this is from me and Tomika." Lawrence said handing him a box. Zack opened it to find a new guitar strap with a red petal pattern on it.

"This is sweet, thanks guys."

"It was my idea." Lawrence said. Tomika kept smiling, but kicked Lawrence under the table. "Our idea, both of us, together." He said trying to mask the pain.

"This is from me," Katie handed him another present. "I hope you like it." She said. Zack ripped this one open as well and pulled out a dream catcher. "My Gran Gran makes dream catchers and gave my family one each, then I remembered you said that you have trouble sleeping sometimes, so I hope this'll help."

"Thanks a ton Katie." He said with a smile. "Hey, where's Frankie? He's usually here by now." Zack asked.

"Oh he's sick today Babe." Freddy said next to him.

"Is it serious?"

"Nah, just a stomach ache."

"Really? Because when I talked to him, he sounded like he was dying." Katie said.

"Katie, every guy acts like they're dying when their sick, especially to the girls they like." Gordon explained. "I remember when Marta talked to me when I had a cold for a few days I-"

"Now, why would you bring up Marta?" Zack asked with a smirk.

"W-what? Nothing, I just, uh…" He blushed and began to eat to get out of answering. Everyone else began to laugh.

"C'mon Freddy, just tell me what you got me already." Zack said pulling on his boyfriend's sleeve.

"Sorry Babe, it's a secret." Freddy said still not agreeing to tell him.

"At least give me a hint?" Zack asked.

"Nope, not gonna happen."

"Not even for me?" Zack asked in a seductive voice before he started to lightly bite Freddy's neck. Freddy sat still trying not to break, but even he knew he couldn't say no to Zack when he bites his neck.

"Ok, just a hint, but please stop it." Freddy moaned out.

"That's power," Zack said to the rest of the group.

"Right on," Katie and Tomika said in unison.

"Now, what's my hint?" Zack asked.

"Ok, my gift will let us do more stuff together." Freddy told him.

"I still have no idea what it is." Zack admitted.

"Sorry, that's all you're getting from me." Freddy said turning back toward his food.

"Not even if I-" Zack started.

"Don't even think about it." Freddy said, covering his neck.

"When's your birthday Freddy?" Tomika asked.

"July seventeenth, I'm a summer baby." He told her.

"That explains the hair." Lawrence said.

"What?" Tomika asked.

"What?" Lawrence said back.

"So, is you family doing anything?" Katie asked.

"We always go out to eat on one of our birthdays. This year, since I'm dating Freddy, I can bring him."

"And your dad's ok with that?" Katie asked.

"My mom told him he is." Zack told her. They heard the bell ring and all groaned in annoyance as they each made their ways inside to their next classes.

* * *

Zack sat in his fifth period class and could feel someone staring at him. He looked around and saw a blond girl staring daggers at him. "Who's she? And have I ever done anything to her?" He asked Alicia who shared this class with him.

"Oh, Taylor? I don't think you've ever met her. She's one of Freddy's ex's. One of many."

"None of his other ex's look at me with murder in their eyes."

"She's still not over him like most of the other's are." Alicia explained.

"Should I be afraid?" Zack asked.

"Nah, she's all bark and no bite." She told him. Zack looked back and saw Taylor laughing now.

"Uhhhhh-"

"Just ignore her." Alicia told him.

 _Soon Zack. Soon you'll see Freddy's meant for me._ Taylor thought to herself. _Wow, I am really acting like a bitch right now. I kind of like it._

* * *

"Why am agreeing to this?" Zack asked with Freddy's tie tied around his eyes.

"Because you love me." Freddy told him, pulling him forward

"Well yeah, but that excuse didn't make me try rocky road." Zack told him.

"And you're still a fool for it." Zack heard a door open and the two of them walked into the room. "Ok, let's get this thing off." Freddy said, taking the tie off. Zack opened his eyes to see a dark and empty room before all the lights turned on and the rest of the band jumped.

"Surprise!" They yelled.

"Whoa, deja vu." Zack said. "Thanks guys, you really didn't have to." He told everyone.

"Nonsense," Summer told him. "We threw a party for everyone else's birthday, you're no different."

"Besides, any reason to party, is a good one." Chiaki mentioned. "I can't wait for you guys to turn twenty-one."

Most of the band members also had presents for him. Billy made him an outfit to go along with the song he wrote earlier that year. Zack completely forgot about the song since the band hasn't gotten a chance to sing it yet. Marco built him a recorder/metronome shaped exactly like his guitar. Summer got him a pack of mechanical pencils (Zack loses his pencils all the time.) Chiaki showed him some new guitar tricks. And the whole band played "I was made for loving you" with Freddy singing.

* * *

All in all, everyone had a great time. Freddy came up to him and tapped on his shoulder. "Meet me in the quad in five minutes, I'll give you your present then." He said before leaving the room When he got to the quad he was about to take Zack's present out when he saw Taylor also in the quad, crying her eyes out. "Taylor?" He asked, walked over to her. "What's wrong?"

"I-it's nothing." She told him.

"It's not nothing. Come on, you can talk to me. We're friends right?" He said with a smile.

"We are?" She asked.

"Of course. Now come on tell me."

"Ok," She said wiping her tears. "It's just that, my boyfriend is being so mean right now. I have alot of family stuff going on right now and he knows this, but he still is trying to make me choose between him and my family, but I don't want to choose between them you know?"

"Taylor, it's gonna be hard to hear this, but you need to break up with this guy." He told her.

"What?" She asked.

* * *

Zack looked up at the time and saw that five minutes had passed and left to make his way to the quad.

* * *

"Making you choose between him and family is seriously messed up. He obviously doesn't care about you being happy." Freddy told her.

"Are you sure?" She asked,

"I'm positive."

"Ok, thanks so much Freddy." She said, hugging him. Freddy was surprised but hugged her back.

Marcy, who was watching saw Zack getting close and walked through to quad.

* * *

*flashback*

" _When you see Zack getting close, walk through the quad, that'll be my signal to go for it." Taylor told her._

*end flashback*

* * *

Taylor looked up, and smiled. She grabbed ahold of Freddy's face and kissed him. Freddy's eyes shot opened wide and he quickly pushed her off. "Taylor what do you think you're-"

"Freddy?" Freddy looked over and saw Zack standing a few feet away looking as of he was going to cry.

"Z-zack, wait this isn't...it's not…" He was panicking too much to form complete sentences. Before he could get the right words out Zack took off his necklace and threw it at Freddy before he ran off down the hallway. Freddy bent over and picked it up to see his own initials on the half heart shaped necklace. He pulled out his own with Zack's initials on it and held them together as tears began to form before he heard laughter behind him.

"Well, that went smoothly. Now, let's talk about us." Taylor said.

"You lied to me." Freddy said without turning around.

"Of course I did. I had to get you close to me. And now the two of us can be together again."

"Why the Hell would be with **you**?" He asking turning around, his face red with anger.

"B-but Freddy-"

"No, shut up. I don't wanna hear it. Why can't you just accept that it's over? Look, I love Zack and you just ruined it. Do me a favor and stay out of my life already." He said before he walked off. Once he was outside the school he sat down on the stairs and began to cry himself.


	16. Parting Ways

It was a Sunday afternoon when Ashton heard a knocking at the door. He got up from the couch and closed it almost immediately when he saw who it was. "Come on, open the door." Freddy said from outside. Ashton rolled his eyes, but opened the door back up anyways.

"What do you want dipshit?" He asked.

"I just want to talk to Zack." He said.

"Like that's gonna happen." Ashton said and he began to close the door again.

"Ash c'mon-"

"No, you don't get to call me 'Ash,' not after what you did."

"If you just let me explain-"

"You can't talk your way out of this one Jones. Now get out of here before things get ugly." Ashton said in a serious tone. Freddy began to walked down the driveway when he turned around.

"Can you at least tell me how he's doing? He wasn't at school Friday."

"You wanna know how he is? Seriously?" Ashton asked, looking at Freddy like he was insane. "Well so do I. He hasn't left his room since he came home on his birthday crying his eyes out. He's not answering when he knock, he's not answering his phone either. He's completely isolated himself. I don't know if he's eating. All I know is that every night, I can hear him crying himself back to sleep, so thanks for that. Now beat it." Freddy took a deep breath, walked away and once he was down the street began to cry himself.

Ashton went back inside, playing back the conversation in his head and headed upstairs. He walked up to Zack's door and tried knocking. "Zack are you in there?" He asked, to which he got no response. "You gotta come out sometime." Still nothing. "Listen, your piece of shit ex just dropped by." He waited for a second before he heard the door unlock and saw it open just a crack.

"What did he want?" Zack asked in a weak voice.

"He wanted to see you. I said no obviously." Zack tried to close his door again, but Ashton put his foot in the way. "No, you're coming out." He said pushing to door open. Zack was standing on the other side with his head hanging low. His hair was a mess, his t-shirt had tear stains on it and he also didn't have pants on. Just a pair of boxer-briefs and one sock on his left foot. Ashton lifted his brother's head up so see his eye were tired and bloodshot. "Oh God, you look awful."

"I feel awful." He replied.

"Come on downstairs, you need to eat something. Anything." He said taking Zack's hand in his and bringing him down to the kitchen with him.

"Where are Mom and Dad?"

"They had to go into work. Won't be back until later tonight. Here, made you a sandwich." Ashton said, putting it on the table in front of him. Zack just looked at it. "Bro, please." Zack picked it up and started eating. "Look, I know what Freddy did was fucked up, but you can't just lock yourself up forever."

"I know, I'm just being sad for awhile."

"That's fine, but you weren't even eating dude."

"I couldn't. I felt too sick." He said before the two fell into silence. Ashton then noticed Zack had begun to cry again.

"Zack?"

"Was I not good enough?" Zack asked.

"Hey, don't say that. Don't you **dare** say that. Freddy didn't deserve you."

"Really?"

"Definitely. You'll find someone who'll treat you right. And until Freddy gets his shit together, he'll keep missing out on what's best for him."

"Thanks Ash," Zack said wiping his tears away.

"Anytime. Now can you please put some pants on? I'm really not comfortable talking to you right now."

"You know, you were really sweet up until now." Zack said with a small laugh and walked upstairs.

* * *

Freddy got home and stormed up to his room walking right past his mom and brother who both tried to talk to him. He kicked his shoes off and fell down on his bed. "Freddy, sweety," his mom said peaking into his room. "Is there something you walk to talk about?" She asked hesitantly.

"If I wanted to talk, I wouldn't've kept walking when you said 'hi.'" He said without turning around.

"Is there something you need to talk about?" She asked.

"My ex ruined my life and I can't even talk to the boy I'm desperately in love with. Any advice?" He asked.

"Give it time honey. Zack just needs to process everything, that's all. You'd probably act the same if you saw him with someone else."

"But what if he's over me when I see him next and it's too late?"

"Well, if it's meant to be, he'll come back." She said, rubbing his back.

"Great, I love leaving it up to chance."

"Bart and I are going out to eat if you want to join us." She suggested, to which he didn't respond. "Or just stay in your room and sit in the dark, whatever makes you happy." She said walking out.

* * *

Zack was walking to school the next morning. It was cold and looked as if it was going to rain soon. He had his headphones in, blasting his music at full volume when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He hesitated for a minute before he turned around and saw Freddy.

"Hey," Freddy said, to which Zack didn't respond. "Can we talk?" He asked.

"Not now." Zack said turning away.

"Look, I just wanted to say-"

"I said not now." Zack told him firmly. "We'll talk later, I promise. But for now, just leave me alone." He said, putting his headphones back on as Freddy took off on his skateboard. Zack walked into the school where he saw Tomika and Lawrence flirting with each other like it was any other day since they finally got together. _Please don't notice me, please don't notice me._ He thought as he walked by.

"Zack!" They both shouted. _Crap_

"Hey guys. Crazy weather lately huh?" He asked. He blinked and next he knew, Lawrence was hugging him tight. "Uh, Larry?"

"I was so worried about you man. You never miss out on school." He let go and looked at him concerned.

"Oh yeah, well you know there's this cold going around and I guess that I just-"

"Freddy told us what happened." Tomika told him. Zack dropped his head, he couldn't bring himself to look at them with the knowledge. "We're sorry Zack, I really thought he'd changed."

"It's fine, I'm the idiot who trusted him." The bell rang cutting them all off. "I'll see you guys after class." He said walking off.

"Holy shit you're alive." Gordon said as Zack walked into their class.

"Despite my best efforts, I am." Zack said sitting down.

"You didn't like...actually try to-"

"Of course not! I didn't eat much, but I didn't try to kill myself, relax."

"You had me worried for a second there man."

"Tomika told me that Freddy told you guys what happened. What did he say exactly?" Zack asked.

"He said that you ran off after you saw Taylor kissing him." Gordon told him.

"Taylor...kissed him?"

"That's the story he told us at least. Not every believes him though."

"Do you?" Zack asked.

"I don't know man. To be honest he could be lying to cover his ass again like he did for all of Middle School, but Taylor is obsessed with him enough I can see her trying to break you guys apart."

"Yeah, so can I…" Zack said to himself as class started.

* * *

"I just want to make sure that we're still ok even though Freddy and Zack split." Frankie said to Katie trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Frankie, our relationship isn't in jeopardy because Freddy's an asshole." Katie told him.

"Hey, you heard what he said happened." Frankie argued.

"And you believe him?" She asked.

"Well yeah. He's my best friend. Why wouldn't I?"

"No offense Babe, but you weren't here the last three years. Cheating and lying kind of became his thing." Frankie was silent for a minute.

"I believe him. I've seen how he is with Zack and I don't think he'd lie to him."

"I wish I had your optimism." She said.

* * *

Later at lunch, the usual crew was sitting together, minus Freddy and Frankie. "Are you sure you can talk to him?" Lawrence asked Zack.

"I think I can handle it. I owe it to him to at least listen to what he has to say." Zack admitted in between fries. "God, I've missed food."

"You must of have been starving to enjoy the stuff the school's giving us." Tomika said poking her bowl of...soup? Yeah, that sounded close enough.

"Are you gonna eat that?" He asked.

"Be my guest." She said, handing it over with a smile. He took it and immediately began eating the...whatever it was supposed to be.

"Everyone, be sure to keep your hands and feet away from Zack's mouth." Katie warned.

"You know, you're eating just Freddy used to." Gordon commented. Everyone gave him a look. "Sorry,"

"No, it's fine." Zack told him. "I dated him for almost half a year, it'd make sense that I act a bit like him."

"I really wish I could go over there." Freddy told Frankie as they sat across the quad. "But after Thursday, your girlfriend would probably kill me."

"Little more than probably. You need to get Zack alone to talk to him."

"Zack promised me we'd talk after school. So I'll just meet him at his locker then. Until then, I'm just glad to see that he can smile again." Freddy said staring longingly at Zack.

"You really loved him didn't you?" Frankie asked.

"Still do man." He said not looking away from Zack.

* * *

"I think you're making the right decision talking to him." Alicia told Zack in their class together.

"Really?" He asked.

"You should've seen it Zack, Freddy was nearly falling apart when he told us what happened. It's amazing that he managed to not cry in front of us. That's probably why he left immediately after." She continued to explain.

"Wow," Zack said. "Then I think I know what I'm going to say."

* * *

It was after school. Zack was at his locker grabbing what he needed. When he closed it, he saw Freddy running down the hall towards his direction. "Hey," Freddy said out of breath as he arrived. "Is it ok if we talk now?" He asked.

"Yeah, I actually really want to." Zack told him.

"Yeah? Cool. Ok, let me start." Freddy said as the two made their way to one of the benches outside. "I was about to give you your present when I saw Taylor. She was was crying and told me this story about her boyfriend being a dick and-"

"Freddy, I don't care about all that. I just want you to answer me one question." Zack interrupted

"Anything."

"Did you willingly kiss Taylor even though we were together?" Zack asked.

"No. She kissed me, I pushed her off immediately, but you were already there." Freddy told him. "Zack, you know hurting you is the last thing I'd ever want to do." He said, taking Zack's hand in his.

"I don't doubt that for a second. But I still think we should stop seeing each other." Zack told him.

"B-but Zack. I didn't cheat this time. I really thought that I was being a good boyfriend."

"You were Freddy. You were more than I could ask for, but when I said I trusted you, I lied. To you and myself. I saw you with Taylor and right away assumed that you were back to your old ways and ran off without letting you get a word out. I don't want to break up because you kissed someone else. I want to break up because I wasn't mature enough to think you changed. You deserve someone that can really trust you and that person just isn't me."

Freddy opened his mouth to protest but, deep down he knew Zack was right as much as he hated to admit it. "Can we...still be friends? Would that be ok?" Freddy asked out of desperation to still be apart of Zack's life.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Zack told him before the two shared a tight hug. "One last kiss too?" Zack asked. Freddy nodded as he lifted his head up and the brought their lips together for the last time.

"See you later?" Freddy asked.

"See you later." Zack said as the two took their separate ways.


	17. Marco and Alicia?

"Go Alicia!" Marta cheered from the stands. Alicia was not only a backup singer for the band but during their hiatus, she had found that she really enjoyed basketball and was currently playing a game on the school's girls basketball team. Marta, being her best friend, was of course there for her. Gordon had come because Marta asked him too. Also at the game was...Marco? What was he doing here? Either way, he wasn't even paying attention to the game.

One of Alicia's teammates passed her the ball. She leaped into the air and SLAM DUNK! That's the end of the game. Their school's side was of course cheering wildly. "What's going on?" Marco asked, finally looking up.

"Alicia just won use the game!" Marta told him.

"Oh, cool?" He said confused knowing nothing about sports. Marta rolled her eyes before hugging Gordon in excitement. Gordon blushed but hugged her back. After the game, Alicia met up with her friends outside.

"You did such a great job out there A!" Marta told her.

"Thanks M! Anyone could've pulled that off though."

"Yeah, but you did it."

"I'm shocked you come to one of my games for your date." She said with a smirk.

"It's not a date!" They both yelled.

"I'm surprised Marco came along." She said after she stopped laughing.

"He didn't," Gordon told her. "He was just here when we showed up. So we brought him to the gym."

"Weird, is he still inside?" She asked them.

"Do you see him next to us?" Marta asked.

"No," Alicia replied.

"Then he's still inside." Gordon said.

"Ok, you guys go. I'll grab Carrot Top." She said heading back inside the building. When she walked back inside Marco had yet to leave the gym. He was vigorously jotting down equations in a notebook. Alicia cleared her throat causing him to turn around. "You probably want to go home now." She said.

"Oh shit, what time is it?" He asked.

"It's ten-thirty." She said, pulling out her phone.

"Crap, my mom's gonna kill me." He said, grabbing all his stuff. "I gotta jet."

"I'll walk home with you. You still live in the same place?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah. You remember where I live?" He said in confusion.

"Of course, I remember where all the cool people live." She told him.

"You think I'm cool?" He asked as they left the school.

"Of course I do. Remember back in middle school when Freddy had that party?"

"Oh yeah and they threw us in the closet." He said with a small laugh.

"I asked you not to make a move and you actually listened to me." She said smiling.

"Well yeah, how does that make me cool?" He asked.

"You knew you were gonna get made fun of if you didn't kiss me and yet, you still didn't."

"Why would I care what some guys say about me? You're actually my friend and you didn't want me to kiss you."

"That makes you cool." She told him. The two of them grew silent to listen to the sounds of the night. "Aight, here we are." She said as they came to his house.

"Are you sure you don't want me to see you home?" He asked.

"I think I can handle myself better than you." She said. He smiled and walked inside his place. Alicia waved before beginning her walk home.

* * *

The next morning, Zack was walking to school half asleep with his music blasting in his ears. Freddy skated up to him and considered for a second whether or not they were cool to talk. It had been over a week since they broke up and while they agreed to stay friends, they haven't spoken much since then. _You know what? What the Hell?_ He thought before tapping Zack's shoulder.

Zack thought for a second before he pulled his headphones down. "Jones," He said in a tone that was difficult for Freddy to read. "I'm messing with you man, what's up?" He asked giggling.

"Oh, ok. How's it going?"

"Oh you know, sleep deprived, dehydrated and forgot money for lunch and it's too late to go back now." Zack told him.

"So like, the usual?" Freddy asked.

"Yeah, the usual. I also agreed to write songs for the spring musical." Zack told him.

"Wait, did they ask you or did you volunteer?"

"They asked and I said I'd do it." Zack explained.

"That's actually really cool dude."

"Yeah…" Zack said slowly spacing out.

"Is something wrong?" Freddy asked.

"No, it's just takes alot of time out of my day that's all."

"Makes sense. No time for guys huh?"

"Oh please, I couldn't get a date if I tried." Zack said with a laugh. "Besides, I'm not sure if I'm ready to date again yet after…"

"Oh, of course. Makes sense." Freddy said feeling everything coming back up.

"What about you? Anyone new guys or girls in your life?" Zack asked, moving away from their breakup.

"Oh me? No, I'm deciding to finally take a break and focus on myself. I clearly need to work things out." Freddy admitted.

* * *

Alicia sat in her math class barely awake. She was secretly texting Marta to try to stay up.

M: OMG! U and Marco would make such a cute couple!

A: I rly wish u would stop saying that. We're just friends M!

M: Then y did u walk him home last night?

A: Girl, have you seen him? He would not make it home in his neighborhood that late.

M: LOL! TRUTH XD

"Alicia!" The teacher yelled snapping her attention back to the classroom. "I'm sorry if my lecture is interrupting your conversation,"

"Sorry, I'll put it away." She said stuffing it into her bag. After the teacher went back to the board, Alicia heard chuckling behind her. She turned around to see Marco behind her snickering. "Something funny?" She whispered.

"No, nothing at all." He said still laughing a little.

"Laugh it up Ronald McDonald." She said.

"Oh wow, a read head joke. Never heard that one before." He said rolling his eyes.

"It's the easiest thing to go after." She told him.

"Simplicity at it's finest." He said before he went back to writing down notes.

"You calling me simple?" She asked.

"I'm not answering that." He said.

* * *

"I don't know Gordon, I don't really like horror movies." Marta told him as the two of them were together at lunch away from their usual groups.

"C'mon, it's a classic. It's Stephen King." He said, trying to get her to agree seeing a new movie with him.

"Ok, I'll go see it with you if we can bring someone else with us."

"Uh, no offense, but three's a crowd." He told her.

"I meant two others, like as a double date Gordon." She explained.

"Whoa, whoa, who's calling this a date?" He asked.

"I am Gordon. **I'm** calling a date. Can we stop saying everything we do **isn't** a date? Can't we just call it a date for once? I really like you and I thought you really liked me to." She said.

"I...I do Marta, I swear. I just…" He said. "It's complicated, ok? I'm complicated." He told her. "But, it's a date." He said, grabbing her hand. "And we can bring two more people with us." He agreed.

"Ok cool, so I was thinking we can bring Alicia and Marco."

"And why's that?" He asked her.

"Well, they're obviously into each other, I think they just need a push is all."

"Is that so?" She could feel the sarcasm in his voice and got annoyed so she kissed him on his cheek. "Yeah, I totally see it whenever they talk, we should something."

"Oh my god, thanks for agreeing with me, you really didn't have to." She said.

"No, no, it's a great idea." He told her, with a grin on his face.

* * *

"Hey," Freddy said, arriving at the table he usually sat at with everyone else.

"Hey," Zack responded awkwardly. Everyone else was silent looking back and forth between the two. "You wanna sit down or…?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry." Freddy said taking a seat next to Frankie.

"What took you so long?" Tomika asked.

"And couldn't you have taken longer?" Katie asked under her breath, but still loud enough for Freddy to hear.

"Went to my locker first, huge mistake." He told them.

"Can't stop making them huh?" Katie mumbled again.

"Is there a problem Katie?" He asked her getting annoyed.

"Yeah, he's five feet tall and smells like cheap hair-gel." She told him.

"Bitch where?" He asked, taking his dad's hat off and running his fingers through his smooth, blond hair.

"Oh look, Freddy quit doing something, he'll back at it in a week." She said.

"Guys, cut it out." Zack said quietly.

"At least I'm consistently an asshole. Who're you gonna be tomorrow K?"

"Keep pushing me and I'll be a felon."

"Not the first time a girl's threatened to kill me, you're gonna have to do better."

"Well, it's only murder if they can find a body."

"Will you two just shut up?!" Zack yelled before he stormed off.

"Zack wait-" Katie tried to say.

"I'm sorry-" Freddy said at the same time.

"Nice job guys." Lawrence said before he walked after Zack.

"I cannot believe you right now." Tomika added, following Lawrence.

"Frankie, you're with me right?" Katie asked, latching onto one of his arms.

"Frank c'mon, we're bros." Freddy said from the other side. Frankie shook his arm loose from Katie's grasp.

"I can't be near either of you right now." He said, leaving his own way.

* * *

"I'm never watching a horror movie again." Marta said clinging to Gordon's arm as the four of them left the movie theater.

"I don't know, it was pretty tame." Alicia said with a yawn.

"I'm not sleeping tonight." She continued.

"I'm ready to go to sleep now." Alicia said.

"Stop it!" Marta whined.

"What'd you think dude?" Gordon asked Marco.

"It was ok I guess. I'm not much a movie person." He said.

"He's just upset because he couldn't do his homework during the movie." Alicia commented.

"I don't always think about homework." He told her. "Sometimes I think about cake."

"That it?" Gordon asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Hey, me and Alicia need to use to restroom. We'll be right back." Marta said.

"We do?" Alicia asked as Marta grabbed her arm, pulling her inside. Once they were out of sight, Gordon pulled his phone out, using the reflection to fix his hair and straighten out his glasses.

"Nervous?" Marco asked.

"What? No, I'm cool, I'm cool. You?"

"What do I have to be nervous about?" He asked.

"Well, I mean, you and Alicia," Gordon began to say.

"Alicia and I...what? Wait do think I like her?" He asked.

"Well yeah, you two have been talking alot since her basketball game. Me and Marta figured you guys might've clicked or whatever." Gordon explained.

"Well, we may have started talking, but I don't like her that way. And I doubt she seriously thinks of me like that." He told him.

"We're back, did we keep you waiting long?" Marta asked as her and Alicia walked outside.

"No, not at all." Marco said. "Say Alicia, why don't we take our own way home?" He asked. She looked confused for a second but then saw the look in Marta's eyes and smiled.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." She said following Marco down the street.

"Told you we could get them Gordon." Marta said once they were out of earshot.

"Tonight wasn't about them Marta." He said to her confusion. "It was about us. Marta I really like you and from now on, let's go out more. Just the two of us. What do you say?" He asked.

"I'd love to." She said with a smile. Gordon took lifted her head up before he leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips. Marta draped her arms over his shoulders to deepen the kiss before the two broke apart.

"Wow." He said with a goofy smile. "That was...that was…"

"Incredible." Marta finished. After a second, they came back together for another kiss with Marco and Alicia looking for around the corner.

"Told you we'd get them." Alicia said.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Marco said as the two shook hands.

* * *

Zack was writing in his room. It was almost three in morning and he was barely awake when he heard a tap on the window. He looked up from his desk and saw Freddy outside. He stood up slowly and opened the window letting him inside. "What are you doing up?" Freddy asked.

"I told you I'm writing for the spring musical. And I have a paper due for English, a few assignments for math. Oh God, I forgot about History too. Wait, why are you here?"

"I was on my way home from seeing Jack and saw your light on. Zack, go to sleep." He told him.

"What? I just told you I have alot of work to do, I can't go to sleep yet."

"Zack, there's no way you're going to get anything done like this. You need rest."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Just go to sleep."

"Ok, I'll do it. Thanks Freddy."

"Hey, we're friends aren't we?" Freddy said, placing a hand on Zack's shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess we are." Zack said with a smile. Freddy stepped out of the room where he was greeted by Ashton who must've heard them and woken up.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I saw Zack was up and I know he's been working really hard lately so I got him to go to sleep. Now I'm leaving, see you around." He said as he made his way for to the door. Ashton looked inside Zack's room and saw Zack was fast asleep. Something he hadn't seen in awhile with how busy Zack's been.

"Hey Jones," Ashton said before he left. "Thanks." He told him.

Freddy smiled and tipped his hat before he walked out into the night.

* * *

 _ **Sorry for another delay in updates, I've been having writers block lately especially now that I'm actively writing three stories. Until next time, bye y'all**_


	18. Chiaki's Gamble

_Weird._ Summer thought as she sat in her first period waiting for class to start. _I know Mr. Tani isn't a...typical teacher. But he's always here on time._

"Morning class. I'm sorry for my tardiness, I'm dealing with some issues at home, but I won't bore you all with the details." He said as he walked into class.

 _Issues at home? He love alone doesn't he? What is he talking about?_ Summer couldn't focus much on the lesson in class. She was too focused on what Chiaki said a moment ago. She almost didn't even realize when the bell rang and the other students began to leave. She gathered up her things and went up to see Chiaki at his desk who was rubbing his temples, while seeming stressed. "Chiaki, are you alright?" She asked.

"Hm? Oh I'm fine, just tired. Here, take this." He said handing her a key.

"Isn't this the key to the classroom?" She asked.

"Yeah, I need to head straight home after school for awhile so I'm trusting you with this." He told her.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Now you should get to your next class. Don't wanna ruin your perfect attendance." He said opening the door for her. She gave him one last look of concern before she walked out the door.

* * *

"Hey, you look rested." Freddy said sitting down next to Zack.

"Yeah, thanks to you I guess." He said before they fell into an awkward silence.

"Hey, look about what happened at lunch the other day-" Freddy began.

"Could you not? Sorry to interrupt you, but I don't want to hear about it. And I don't want to hear about it today either. If you and Katie can't get along, I don't think I want to see either of you and I told her this too. So work it out. If not for me, do it for the band." Zack told him.

"Yeah, I can do that, I promise." Freddy said nervously.

* * *

"Something's wrong with him, I swear." Summer whispered to Leonard in their class.

"So you've said." He responded, barley interested. Ever since She met up with him, she'd been going on and on about Chiaki and how he was acting different and Leonard for one was tired of hearing it.

"No, like, more wrong than normal. He's been down before, but he always cheers up quickly. And there's no way he would ever miss practice unless something serious was going on. And he was late to class too, what's up with that? Leonard? Are you listening to me?"

"Mm-hm," he hummed when he heard he finish.

"Are you really?"

"Yes Summer," He said without looking in her direction.

"What color are my nails?" She asked.

"You're right as usual." He responded. "Wait, uh, blue." He said looking at her.

"Seriously Leonard? You need to start listening when I talk to you." She said annoyed.

"Babe, I know, but you've been on this for over a half hour. Can't we just talk about this later?" He asked.

"It's a serious issue and until I get to the bottom of it, I'm not letting it go."

"Not getting laid later, got it." Leonard said to himself.

"What'd you say?" She asked.

"Nothing Babe, nothing at all."

* * *

"Hey there, stud." Katie said to Frankie meeting up with him before lunch. He looked back at her unamused. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Freddy's my best friend." He told her.

"Frankie me and him have never gotten along."

"I know, but you guys have been civil with each other before. What happened?" He asked.

"What happened?" She said sarcastically. "Frankie, you 'bro' kissed someone else right in front of Zack. On his birthday."

"She kissed him." Frankie corrected her.

"We don't know that."

"Zack trusts him, and he's moving on. Why can't you? Before you say anything else, I'm not siding with Freddy against you. I'm not talking to him right now either." He said before he went about his way.

* * *

"Mr. Tani, are you here?" Summer asked as she entered Chiaki's classroom. He was in there and was asleep on his desk. "Mr. Tani? Wake up!" She said shaking him a little.

"Hm? Summer? What are you doing here? What time is it?" He said waking up, still confused.

"It's lunch time, but why are you in here sleeping?"

"I'm not getting much sleep lately, obviously. That's why I gave you the keys so you and the band can come here after school to practice. You said you're going to try to get us to play at the end of the school year dance right?"

"Well yeah, but you-"

"Then go back to lunch, you still have two more classes today." He told her shooing her out the door with a confused look on her face. As soon as she stepped outside, she got a call from Leonard.

" _Where you at?"_ He said on the other line.

"I was just checking on Mr. Tani, I'm on my way back now." She told him.

" _Of course you are."_ He muttered.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked annoyed.

" _Nothing, nothing. See you when you get here."_ He said, hanging up.

* * *

"Hey," Freddy said awkwardly approaching the table. Katie turned away from him.

"Oh just sit down." Zack told him. Freddy sat down quickly and smiled nervously.

"Katie," He said.

"Freddy," She said without looking back at him. Zack faked a cough causing them to look over at him. He looked at both of them seriously and the two of them sighed.

"Listen Katie-"

"Freddy I just wanted to say- Oh sorry, you go first."

"No, no please, go ahead." He told her.

Katie took a deep breath in before starting. "Freddy, I wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said to you. We've never really gotten along and I was using your breakup with Zack to go after you even though everyone else has moved on. I'm really sorry and hope we can go back to being kind of, sort of friends." She said.

"And I'm sorry I fired back just as hard." He said, removing his hat. "I was already under alot of stress but that's not good reason for how acted. Are we cool?" He asked, reaching out his hand.

"Sure," She said shaking his hand. "for now." She added, leaving him looking worried.

* * *

"This feels wrong." Summer thought out loud while her and the band entered Chiaki's classroom, with him already being gone.

"Who cares?" Freddy said, pushing past her. "We haven't gotten to practice with everyone here for while."

"Freddy, I'm pretty sure Chiaki being gone means we don't have everyone here." Zack told him.

"Don't logic with me right now." He whined.

"For someone who skateboards everywhere, I thought you'd be in shape to run a mile." Lawrence said with a smirk.

"How you shut the Hell up and let us play?"

"I'm going to Chiaki's place to check on him." Summer said turning for the door.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Leonard told her.

"Hm, that's funny, I don't remember asking for your opinion. Tomika did you hear me ask for his opinion?" She called over.

"Don't bring me into this." Tomika told her.

"See, Tomika agrees."

"Wait what?" Tomika said in the distance.

"Look Babe, he's your favorite teacher and you're worried, I get it. But we need you here." He told her.

"No you don't, they got you." She said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Leonard, I'm putting my trust in you, to take care of these guys, whenever I'm not around. You got this right?" She asked him.

"Um, sure. I think? Yeah, yeah, I got this." He said confidently.

"Good, I'm out." She said leaving the room.

* * *

 _People really live in these kinds of neighborhoods?_ Summer thought. _I didn't even think this part of town existed._ She was in the east side of downtown Austin and, needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant place to be. _Well, this is his address, so it must be his apartment complex._ She walked inside and went up the stairs to the second floor and reached Room #214. _This is it._ She knocked on the door, timidly at first, but when no one arrived at the door, she knocked louder.

She heard shouting in another language on the other side of the door before it opened. "Oh, Summer hi, I was just-what are you doing here?" He realized.

"As the band manager I thought it in my best interest to check in on you to see if anything was wrong." She said walking inside. "Wow, your place is pretty clean." She said impressed.

"Not normally. It's only clean right now because-"

"Chiaki!" A deep voice yelled from a back room. He let out a sigh as an older Japanese man, with a stern frown walked out. He said something to Chiaki in Japanese, but Summer couldn't understand it. She guessed he was asking who she was since he look at her confused before speaking.

Chiaki responded to him in Japanese before turning back to Summer. "Summer, this is my father, Tani Hanto."

"It's uh, nice to meet you." she said feeling a bit awkward.

"You won't be saying that in a few minutes." He told her.

"Why is one of you students here?" Hanto asked his son. (they're speaking Japanese in this scene if it wasn't obvious)

"She's the manager of the band I came here to join."

"A child? Your band in being managed by a child?" He asked in a condescending tone.

"Dad, it's called 'School of Rock.' Being kids is kind of their thing."

"And I thought you leaving to join a band in the first place was ridicules. Now I see that's it's even more insane than I thought. Tell your band they'll have to find someone else. You're coming home."

"What? Dad, I can't just leave. I have a teaching job here and we might have a show coming up soon."

"Well, I'm afraid that's not really my problem, now tell her goodbye."

"Dad, I'm twenty-nine years old-"

"And you're also my son and you listen to me when I speak." Chiaki and his father fell into silence staring each other down before Chiaki looked over to Summer. Summer felt awkward and confused not knowing Japanese.

"Ok, I'll give you a deal." Chiaki began.

"I beg your pardon-"

"You like deals, now listen as it's my turn to talk. We have a show in Chicago coming up, as I mentioned. Come to the show, if you enjoy it, then I get to stay. If you're not impressed, I'll come back to Japan with you that day. Do we have a deal Father?" Chiaki asked, extending his hand. His father stared at him for a few moments, considering his offer.

"It's a deal." He said, shaking his son's hand. Chiaki turned towards Summer with a smile.

"Something good?" She asked.

"Something very good. Thanks for showing up, now let's go back to the school. I need to practice." He said as the two of them left his place.

* * *

Leonard was watching the band members practice while waiting for Summer to return. He didn't like how much time she was spending thinking about Chiaki, but he decided to trust her, after all, the two of them did work together, so he shouldn't have to worry right?

"Fear not, hope has arrived. For **I** am here." Chiaki said as he and Summer entered the classroom.

"Baby cakes, you've come back to me." Leonard said seeing Summer.

"If it makes you feel better, sure." She said hugging him.

* * *

Zack was on his way home, walking through the halls. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out to take a look, right as he bumped into someone. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's ok, I wasn't paying attention either." He heard a familiar voice say. He looked up and saw an old friend of his.

"Justin? I haven't seen you in forever." He said with a smile.

"No way, little Zack is that you?" Justin asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's me alright." He said with a laugh. Justin's and Zack's dads work together. They saw alot of each other in grade school, but then lost touch when Justin went off to middle school until now.

"Holy crap, you got tall."

"And, you haven't changed in the slightest."

"What're you doing here so late after school?" Justin asked as they began to walk down the hall.

"Band practice," He told him.

"Oh right, that School of Rock thing you do."

"What about you? Football practice?"

"What gave it away?" Justin still had his jersey on.

"That a real question?" Zack asked before they both started to laugh. Zack followed Justin to the locker rooms as they continued to chat and catch up. Justin said how excited he was to almost be done with high school and Zack told him how crazy his first year alone had been.

"Sounds like you've been through some shit." Justin commented as they were walking out of the school. "To be honest, I always thought you'd turn out to be gay."

"Oddly enough, you're not the only one."

"So then, if you're available, would you like to go out this weekend?" He asked his underclassman.

"Yeah, I think it's be great to hang out with you again."

"Uh yeah, but I meant go out like, on a date. With me." Justin said with a chuckle.

"Oh," Zack said as he felt his heart beating really hard.

"If it's too early from your breakup with Freddy, I understand-"

"No, no, it's fine. I'd really like to go out with you." Zack said calming himself down.

"Really? Cool." The two stopped to look at each other for a minute. "Hey, you want a ride home?" Justin asked.

"You drive?" Zack asked, impressed.

"Gotta get out of this town after this summer somehow." He said climbing into the driver's seat. "You jumping in or what?" He asked. Zack smiled and climbed in next to him as the car drove out of the parking lot.

Freddy watched as the car drove away. He had heard everything they said and sat down on the front steps of the school. "I really am just a fucking screw up." He said, fighting back the tears.


	19. Zack's Dream Date?

"So, you're dating again?" Freddy asked as he and Zack walked to school together.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready." He told him with a dreamy voice. "Also, I've known Justin my whole life so I feel like I can really trust him." He said with a smile.

 _Like you thought you could trust me?_ Freddy thought.

"Something wrong?" Zack asked as Freddy went silent.

"No, nothing it's fine. I was just thinking you know?"

"I know what you mean. Finals are coming up soon and it's getting really hot lately." Zack said not picking up on Freddy's tone.

"Well, we're here, I should get to class. I'll see you in History." Freddy said walking away to his class.

"Hey Zack," Tomika said as he walked up to her and Lawrence.

"What's up guys? Isn't life wonderful?" Zack asked, leaning up against the lockers.

"It sure is." Lawrence said staring at Tomika.

"Ok what's with you? It's nice to see you happy, but did something happen?" She asked,

"Yeah, something great." He said, still out of it.

"You wanna tell us or…?" Lawrence began.

"I have a date tonight with such a wonderful guy." He told them.

"Anyone we know?" Tomika asked.

"No, I don't think so. It's an old friend of mine from when I was a kid. He's Ashton's age." He said, thinking about Justin.

"You're dating a senior? Nice dude." Lawrence said as they first bumped. They heard the bell above them ring as everyone around them starting going to class.

"Well, I guess I must be off. Bye," Zack waved as he walked away to his class.

"That was weird." Tomika stated.

* * *

Freddy walked into his first class and dropped all his stuff before plopping down in his seat. He had a frown plastered on his face and his eyes were trained to the floor. "Bad day already?" Marta asked, sitting next to him.

"Is it that obvious?" He asked.

"Need to vent?"

"Please?" She turned off her phone and turned towards him. "Ok, where do I start? Well, it's getting **way** too hot for how early it is in the morning. My final in the class (Science) is going to be a bitch to pass. Oh, and did I mention Zack's ready to move on, but I'm clearly not over him yet?" He asked.

"You still love him?" She said confused.

"Yeah, I do. I've been trying and trying to let go, but I can't. He's all I think about. He may be ready to move on, but I'm not." He finished up.

"Then tell him. Tell him you still love him." She told him.

"I can't. He's already moved on, I can't pull him back in. We weren't good together, it's better this way." He explained.

"It doesn't look like it's better for you though." She noted. He didn't respond, just turned towards the front of the class when their teacher walked in.

* * *

"Are you even listening to me?" Gordon asked Zack who was sitting at his desk staring ahead with the same smile from before.

"Sorry no, thinking about Justin." He said.

"Ok, you've been on dates before. Why is this the one that's making you all doey eyed?"

"You don't understand, Justin's different. He's a senior, he's really tall and he's got a car. I can't even right now." Zack said sitting back in his chair.

"You're right, I don't understand in the slightest." Gordon said, even though he knew Zack had tuned out.

* * *

"Alright for the show, we'll need lights in teal and pink as well as costumes to match the under the sea theme. You getting all this?" Summer asked her new secretary, Clark, as they walked through the halls. Summer got to play at their school's enchantment under the sea dance. She hired Clark the week before to help her handle her band responsibilities.

"Yes, Ms. Hatheway." He said trying to keep up with her pace.

"Make sure you get this information clearly to Billy for the outfits and Gordon and Marco for the lights."

"Yes, Ms. Hatheway." The continued down the hall, but stopped when Summer bumped into Leonard.

"Summer," He said in a cold tone.

"Leonard." She said back. The two had broken up recently and had been acting very different to each other ever since. "Come along Clark," She said walking past Leonard. "We need to run these by Chiaki. Oh, we should also have some mist as well for atmosphere. Write that down and get that to out tech support as well."

"Yes, Ms. Hatheway."

* * *

"He's been like this all day?" Katie asked Gordon referring to Zack as the group sat together at lunch.

"All day." He told her. They all looked at Zack who continued to stare ahead.

Frankie walked up to the table, but hesitated when he saw Katie and Freddy. "It's safe Frankie, you can sit down." Katie told him.

"You're not gonna try to bit each other's heads off with me in the middle?" He asked.

"Of course not, we're cool. Right Katie?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me." She said quickly. He removed his hand just as quickly, but keeping a smile on.

"Alright, I'm trusting you." He said taking his seat in between them. "What's with Zack?" He asked.

"He has a date." Freddy mumbled. Every turned their heads towards him. "Which doesn't affect me in the slightest. We're broken up." He said.

"You sure about that?" Frankie asked.

"Don't push it." Freddy said, stuffing a fry in his mouth.

"Hey Zack," Justin said walking by their table. Freddy nearly choked on his food.

"Justin, Hi!" He said standing up. "What are-what are doing here?" He asked. Tomika faked a cough next to him. "Oh, these are my friends. This is my best friend Lawrence and his girlfriend Tomika. That's Katie, Frankie, Gordon, and the one choking on a french fry is Freddy."

"You eat lunch with your ex?" Justin asked quietly, but still loud enough for Freddy to hear.

"Justin, it's ok, we're just friends. And we've moved on." He reassured him.

"Alright, you ready for tonight?" He asked,

"Yeah, I can't wait." Zack told him, not taking his eyes off him for a second.

"Great, I'll see you later." He said with a wink as he walked off. Zack let out a sigh as he sat back down.

"Isn't he wonderful?" He asked.

"He seems ok." Katie said.

"Pretty nice overall." Tomika admitted.

"He has great teeth." Lawrence added, earning a questioning look from Tomika.

"What do you think Freddy?" Zack asked.

"I think I need to pee." He said getting up quickly and walking away from the table. Everyone walked away with a worried expression, all except for Zack who was still daydreaming.

* * *

Freddy walked into one of the stalls and sat down to catch his breath. "He's moving on," He began to say to himself. "It's only natural. He can't say stuck on me. We agreed to be friends and that's fine. That's fine with me. I'm ok with that. I want to be friends." He voice was beginning to shake. "Just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. We can be just friends."

"Are you sure about that?" He heard from outside the stall. He looked up confused and walked out to find Frankie had followed him.

"Hey bro, what's up?" He asked composing himself. Frankie didn't anything back, but responded by pulling him into a hug. "Frankie?" Freddy asked confused.

"Let it out." He told him. Freddy's eyes filled up with tears as he buried his face into his friend's shoulder.

"Why can't I let him go? Why can't I be happy for him?" He asked.

"Freddy, you're a good guy. You want to be happy for him, I can tell. But you can't completely shut out what you want. And what you want-"

"Is for Zack to hold me again." Freddy finished.

"You'll get there, but don't beat yourself up because he's already moved on." Freddy took a deep breath in and put his hat back on while flashing Frankie a smile. "Looks convincing enough I guess." He told him.

* * *

Zack looked carefully in his closet. He new had had to dress nicely, not too nicely, but definitely better than his first date with Freddy. His phones buzzed and saw a text from Justin.

 _J: Hey Zack, I'm on my way to pick you up. Be ready outside beautiful~_

Zack blushed after reading the text before he went back to his closet. He reached in and pulled out his pair of black skinny jeans, a matching black shirt and a dark blue button up shirt over it. He took a look at himself in the mirror, fixed his hair quickly and walked downstairs.

"Hey, if Zack's still up there, tell him Justin's outside." Ashton said as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Very funny. Tell Mom and Dad I'll be home late." He said going out the door. He walked down his driveway where Justin was waiting in his red convertible. "Well, well, this looks fancier than the car you had yesterday."

"It's my dad's. He lets me borrow it for important things. And you most certainly qualify." Zack smiled as he climbed in before they drove off.

* * *

They drove for about twenty minute before pulling up to a diner that looked straight out of the fifties. Zack's eyes lit up as they climbed out and walked inside where a waitress got them a table.

"This place is really cool. I didn't even know this place was here." Zack said, awestruck.

"Really? I thought you would. I remember you liking places like this." Justin said.

"I do, but I don't really go this far from home in this direction. I do plan to learn how to drive soon though." Zack told him.

"Well, I can teach you later this weekend if you want." He offered.

"Really, you'd do that?" Zack asked.

"Of course I would. I'd be more than happy to."

The waitress came by and they both ordered. Justin got a double cheeseburger with a coke and Zack got a hot-dog with a chocolate shake. "You really like milkshakes don't you?" Zack nodded his head while still drinking from the straw. "You're just adorable, you know that?"

"Psh, stop."

"No, I'm serious. You are." He said before taking a bite out of his burger. Zack hid his face a bit, hoping Justin wouldn't see him blush. "See?" It didn't work. He was about to respond when he felt his phones buzz in his pocket.

"Sorry, I need to check and see if it's something important." Zack told him pulling his phone out.

"Go ahead, it's alright." Justin said, understanding. Zack looked at his phone and saw a text from Freddy and couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about checking a text from his ex while on a date, but he also wanted to know what he had to say.

 _F: Hey, how's your date with Justin going? I hope he's treating you good._

 _Z: It's fine Freddy. Don't text me until it's over ok?_

 _F: Oh, sorry._

Zack put his phone away and turned his attention back to Justin. "Sorry about that, Katie just wanted to check in. She's kind of like a big sister."

"No, no, it's perfectly fine. I have older siblings too. Of course, they're all moved out on their own by now." Justin explained. Zack only knew about one of his siblings, Justin's sister Hallie. She was pretty cool from what he remembered, but he only met her a few times since she was roughly Justin;s and Ashton's age now back when they were still kids.

"Are you gonna finish those fries?" Zack asked. He had already cleaned of his plate, but Justin still had about half a plate left.

"Big appetite, I like that. By all means." He said pushing his plate over to Zack. Zack dug into the fries in front of him as if he hadn't eaten at all that day. "Wow, you did not eat like this when we were kids." Justin commented.

"Yeah, I must've picked it up from-" He stopped himself. He almost said Freddy. He definitely didn't want to mention him right now.

"Picked it up from who? The Jones kid?" Zack's eyes went wide. Justin knew he and Freddy used to date, but how did he guess so easily? "Zack, if you picked up some traits from him, it's ok, you know? You don't have to pretend you've never been on a date before." Zack let out a long sigh.

"You really don't mind?" He asked for clarification.

"Hey, I asked you out. If this is who you are, then I don't see a problem." He said with a smile. Zack looked relieved as he finished off what was left of their fries. Justin got up to go pay as Zack went back out to the car. Justin came out in a second and hoped in next to him.

"Where to next?" Zack asked.

"It's a surprise. You're gonna love it." Justin said as they pulled out.

* * *

The car finally came to a stop at the top of the hill. "Ok, you can look now." Justin told his date.

"This isn't the part where I open my eyes to see a bloody cabin is it?" Zack joked.

"Just look." Zack opened his eyes and saw the were on a hill overlooking the entire city. It was so bright! Zack was speechless with how beautiful it look from up high. "You think that's good? Look up." Zack looked up to see a sky full of stars without lights to block any of them out. "Pretty cool huh?"

"Oh my God, this is incredible." Zack said taking everything in. "Thanks so much for taking me out tonight."

"Pleasure's been all mine," He said, his eyes tracing Zack, while he was busy looking at the clear night sky. "You know, you look really good tonight." Justin told him.

"You've said that before." Zack replied.

"No, I said you were acting cute. But you don't look half bad either."

"You look good too Justin. I mean, you always do, but especially right now I mean. Only thing prettier is this view."

"It sure is nice isn't it? I always like coming up here and looking at this, but it's even better with someone else." He said looking to Zack. Zack looked back at him and smiled. Justin reached out and brushed some of Zack's hair out of his face, before leaning in and the two embraced in a soft kiss. Justin leaned back in his seat, leaving Zack with a shocked look on his face.

"Wow, that was...wow. Can we do it again?" He asked, flustered. Justin laughed a bit before he leaned back over and they began to kiss again, but more into it than before. Zack didn't even notice Justin's hands moving until he felt them on his legs. He didn't stop, it felt to good to stop now. It wasn't until he felt his hands moving up towards his inner thighs, that he stopped it. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Don't worry," Justin told him leaning back in.

"I am worried, please don't move your hands there." He said back.

"I just really like you Zack." Justin said, trying to kiss him again.

"I like you too, but I don't know if I'm ready to go there with you."

"Oh please," Justin laughed, his whole demeanor changing. "Everyone at school knows you and Freddy banged like rabbits, so what's the problem?"

"Well for starters, I went on more than one date with him." Zack began before he decided he didn't feel like talking about this with Justin. "You know what, just take me home. I've had enough."

"I thought you liked me?" Justin said in a mocking, innocent voice.

"Me too," Zack said facing away. Justin got annoyed. He put the passenger seat down and pushed zack down on in. Before Zack could respond, Justin was on top, forcing his tongue into his mouth again. Zack managed to push him off enough to speak. "Justin, what the fuck are you doing?! Get off of me! Stop it!" He yelled.

"No way, your mine tonight." He used one hand to continue to hold Zack down, while his other hand undid his zipper. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this." He said licking his lips.

 _No._ Zack thought. _Not like this. Please God, not like this. I can't do this. I don't want it to happen like this. I won't let it happen like this!_ Justin began to pull Zack shirt up when Zack freed one of his legs and kicked Justin hard in the nuts before jumping out of the car and sprinting down the hill.

"Get back here Zack! I've earned this! Get back here!" He heard Justin yell as he continued to run. Zack stopped after awhile to catch his breath. When he looked back, he saw Justin's car right behind him. Before he got a chance to run, the car flew right past him. "Fucking slut!" He heard Justin yell as he sped by. Zack was glad there was a trail since Justin made him cover his eyes on the way up.

 _Oh now I understand. It wasn't for the surprise, he wanted me to need him to get back._

* * *

Zack continued down and finally made it down to the city after walking for an hour. He sat down on the curb of the street to catch his breath when he heard a familiar voice.

"Don't I know you?" Zack turned his head to see Jack. Freddy's old friend with his hot-dog stand and what seemed like the same jacket. "You're Freddy's boyfriend aren't you?" He asked.

"Not anymore Jack, we broke up a little over a month ago." He told him, hold in everything that happened.

"Aw what a shame, you two were really cute together. What are you doing out here if you don't mind me asking?"

"Bad night. Really bad night." Zack told him, keeping it brief.

"I'm real sorry to hear that." He told the young teenager.

"Not as sorry as I am." Zack muttered to himself.

"Here, you like em with relish don'cha?" Jack said handing out a hot-dog. Zack went to pull out his wallet when Jack stopped him. "This one's on me." Zack half-smiled and took the hot-dog and began eating. "Look, I understand what you're going through. I've had my fare share of misfortunes in life, I mean look at me." Jack said with a laugh. "But two things I've learned is that sometimes the way to help yourself, it to help someone else."

"And the other thing?" Zack asked.

"The other thing is that people spend their whole lives looking for their happy endings, that sometimes they miss the one right in front of them." Zack finished his hot-dog before standing up.

"Thanks Jack. Oh shit, look at the time! I need to get home, I'll see you around." Zack said as he took off towards his house.

* * *

When he finally made it to his house it was almost two-thirty in the morning. Which his father was sure to remind him of.

"It may be a weekend, but you still have a curfew young man! And why did I get a call from Justin's father saying you kicked him in the testicles? I hope you have a good explanation for that."

"Because if I didn't he would've raped me. That a good enough reason for you Dad?" Zack said before slamming his bedroom door closed.

* * *

Freddy heard his phone going off and woke up to see three texts and two missed called all from s Zack. Within an instant he was calling back. "Hey, what's up?"

" _Can you meet me in my treehouse? I really need someone to talk to that's not my family."_ Zack's voice over the phone was shaking a bit, not too much, but enough to worry Freddy.

"Yeah, sure I'll be right over." Freddy grabbed one his dad's old jackets and a pair of boxers before heading down to grab his shoes and skateboard and taking off to Zack's.

Once he arrived he sneaked into the backyard and went past the Mooneyham's pool to the big tree with a little wooden house on top. That house was older than they are. Zack's dad had it built before Ashton was born. Freddy climbed up the ladder and found Zack sitting inside staring out the window at the calm pool below. "I'm here, what's going on?" Freddy asked.

"You're gonna wanna sit down for this one." Zack told him everything that happened, down to the littlest detail. Freddy, not wanting to interrupt, sat in silent horror as Zack told his story. "So yeah," Zack finished up as his body stiffened.

"I'm gonna kill him." Freddy said after a moment of silence.

"Freddy,"

"On Monday, I'm gonna kill him, then I'm gonna bring him back to life so I can kill him again."

"Freddy, please don't."

"Zack, he tried to rape you, I'm not just going to stay out of it." Freddy told him in a stern voice.

"Freddy, I told you so I could let it go. Please don't get involved, I don't want to get wrapped up in something like this. Everyone will stop treating me like a person. I'll just be victim. Besides, Justin's leaving this summer and I won't have to deal with him again."

"What's to stop him from doing this again once he leaves town?" Freddy asked.

"I never said we couldn't teach **him** a lesson he won't forget." Zack said with an evil smile.

"I love it when you're vengeful and cruel." Freddy said getting the same smile. "Hey, I should go. My mom's going to be leaving for work soon and she'll freak if I'm not there."

"Alright, I'll see you Monday on the way to school?" Zack asked.

"Wouldn't miss it." Freddy said, getting ready to leave.

"Hey Freddy, there's one more thing I need before you take off."

"Yeah, what's tha-" Freddy was caught off by Zack lips being pushed against his own. Freddy didn't dare fight back, he missed this more than he could describe even to himself. He didn't even want to question it until Zack pulled away. "What was that for?" He asked.

"I needed to get the taste of him out of my mouth." Zack said.

"Oh right, well you know where to find me if you need anything else." Freddy said climbing down the ladder and heading home.

"Anything else huh? I'll keep that in mind." Zack said with a smile as he watched Freddy leave.


	20. Two Men & a Baby

"Promise me you won't engage with Justin?" Zack asked Freddy as they arrived at school.

"You have my word, Zack." Freddy reassured him.

"That's what worries me." Zack said before walking off. Freddy looked at his phone and noticed he arrived early so decided to go to drop off some stuff in his locker. He walked to the back end of school where it was located and found there were a surprising amount of students there. He was putting some of his things inside when he heard two seniors behind him chatting.

"C'mon bro, you haven't told how the date was with that Mooneyham kid." Freddy stopped moving and began to listen closely.

"It was alright I guess, but I don't think I'll be going out with him again." _Good._ Freddy though.

"At least you got to bang him right?" Justin's friend asked.

"Of course I did. Wasn't great though. He was way too easy you know? I just got on top of him and-" They were both cut off by the sound of a locker slamming shut. "Whoa dude, who shit in your cornflakes?" Justin asked, not knowing it was Freddy at first.

"You fucking liar! Zack wouldn't sleep with you if you were the last person on earth!" Freddy yelled as a crowd began to form around them.

"What's wrong Jones? No one else aloud to plug your ex?" Justin mocked once he realized it was Freddy. "What's with the hat? You think you're a cowboy or something squirt?"

"Zack told what really happened." Justin's smile dropped immediately. "Every last detail and if you don't want me telling the whole school, you better shut your mouth." Freddy warned.

"Why don't you make me?" Freddy and Justin starred each other down as an intense silence filled the halls.

"You're not worth it." Freddy said walking away.

"Guess Daddy raised a quitter huh?" Justin called out. Freddy stopped dead in his tracks and turned around with rage in his eyes and pounced

* * *

Zack was chatting with Lawrence when Katie ran up to them. "Guys, there's a fight breaking out."

"So? It's Monday after all." Zack told her.

"Trust me Zack, you're gonna want to see this." She said, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the hallway.

When they arrived they couldn't see anything due to the thick wall of other students. Zack saw what looked like blond hair in the fight and pushed his way through and sure enough, saw Freddy and Justin in the middle. "Get this kid off of me! He's fucking crazy!" Justin yelled. Before Zack could make a move, Chiaki pushed through the crowd and forcibly pulled them away from each other.

"Show's over everyone, now get to class. Except you two, straight to the dean's office now." The two begrudgingly walked down the hall in the same direction refusing to look at each other. Zack watched them leave as he picked up Freddy's hat off the floor, realizing it must've fallen off during the fight.

* * *

"Ok, what's this all about?" The dean asked the two boys sitting in her office. Both of them began yelling over each other at the same time before she put her fingers in her mouth and whistled to silence them. "Let's try this again. Justin why were you fighting a freshman?"

"I wasn't! He just jumped me like a psycho person." She turned her head towards Freddy.

"He wouldn't stop pushing me and then he lied about his date with Zack. Calling him easy and all this other stuff."

"Is this true?" She asked.

"Well...yeah." Justin admitted.

"I see. Justin, spreading rumors like that is not only wrong, but it's potentially very harmful to Zack. And Freddy, violence is never the answer. Do you both understand?" They both nodded. "Good, Justin that's a week of detention for you and two weeks for you Freddy. You're both dismissed." The two got up and left to find Zack waiting outside.

"Zack?" Freddy asked.

"Here, you dropped your hat. Or more that it fell off." He said, handing it over.

"Thanks," Freddy said putting it on his head. "Shouldn't you have class though? Aren't you late now?"

"I think I'll live." He said with a smile.

"Well, hello there Zack." Justin said sliding over.

"You don't want to get into this again do you?" Freddy threatened, standing in between them.

"Zack, call off your bulldog." Justin said in a condescending tone.

"Freddy, I can deal with him. Just go to class ok?" Zack said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Freddy walked down the hall not taking his eyes off Justin for a second. "I want you to stay out of my life forever." Zack told him.

"And what if I don't. You think anyone will believe you?" Justin asked with a smile.

"My dad sure seemed to believe me and I could have him call your dad." Justin's smile dropped. "I'm pretty sure he'd be better at punishing you than the police. All I'd have to do is give the ok."

"Y-you wouldn't."

"Try me." Zack said stepping close to him.

"Alright whatever." Justin said, back off. "You're missing out though." He said walking off.

"Keep walking asshole." Zack said before walking away himself, turning the corner and bumping into Freddy.

"That was pretty cool back there."

"Thanks,"

"Was that how you're going to teach him a lesson?"

"Nah, I paid the lunch lady to put laxatives in his food."

"Oh, that is just cruel. I like it when you're cruel." He said as they shared a laugh. "I don't know if you heard, but I got detention for the next two weeks."

"I'll tell the band to practice late." Zack said before walking off to class. Freddy watched him leave, remember the kiss they shared after his and Justin's date.

"Yep, still in love with him." Freddy said to himself before making his way down the hall.

* * *

"So, what you're saying is, if we fail to impress your dad, you'll have to move back to Japan forever?" Katie asked Chiaki as the band was setting up for practice.

"Yep, no pressure, but we'll have to be perfect." He told them.

"Yeah, no pressure at all." Zack muttered, while tuning his guitar.

"Anyone seen Summer?" Marta asked.

"She's usually on our asses about being on time." Alicia commented. Almost as if someone heard her, the door to the classroom opened immediately.

"Everyone, I need you to be quiet please." Clark said, holding the door open.

"Yeah sorry to burst your bubble," Leonard began. "But this is band practice, we can't can't exactly be-"

"Just do what you're told for once Leonard." Summer whisper shouted, walking in with a baby strapped to her chest.

"S-Summer, is that-but you told me that-" He attempted to say, tripping over his words.

"Oh relax, it's not our's. How would I have hid that from you? It's my new baby brother, Joey." She explained.

"So, your parents still-" Lawrence started.

"Please don't finish that sentence, but yes." Summer told him.

"Summer, why did you bring him?" Chiaki asked.

"Well, I need a favor from one of you." She said shyly.

"I don't like where this is going." Tomika said grimly.

"My parents are out of town and I have alot of work to do since we got the school gig. So, I need one of you to watch him for a day." Everyone avoided eye contact in hopes that she wouldn't choose them. Freddy stood up slowly to make his way towards the door while she wasn't looking.

"Freddy, this means so much, thank you." She said turning to him.

"No, you don't understand, I'm not-"

"Going to do it alone." Zack interrupted. "We'll watch him together."

"Oh, well thank you both very much." She said with a smile, handing Joey over to Freddy who shot Zack a look.

* * *

"Why on earth did you agree to this?" Freddy asked. The two were at Zack's house after school and Joey was crying loudly.

"Maybe I want kids someday." Zack said as a half question, shaking Joey lightly to calm him down.

"Well, you're off to a bad start. He needs to be burped." Zack put Joey's head over his shoulder and patted until his back until Joey burped and quieted down.

"How did you know that?" Zack asked.

"I have a little brother and eight younger cousins remember? I know what different cries mean." He said. Zack smiled and sat down next to him on the couch. "Can I see him?" Freddy asked. Zack handed him over carefully. "Hey there, hey Joey. You happy to get away from your stuck up sister? I bet you are." Hey teased while tickling him causing a small laugh out of him.

"You're pretty good at this." Zack told him.

"Don't go telling anyone. Gotta keep my street cred in tact." Freddy said with a corny smile before Joey began to cry again. "That's a hungry cry."

"I left his bottle in the kitchen, I'll go get it." Zack said getting up and leaving.

"You like him huh?" Freddy asked Joey, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to understand him. "Yeah, I like him to. Even though I really shouldn't anymore." Zack walked back in with his bottle and handed it to Freddy who put it in Joey's mouth.

"How the Hell does Summer have such an adorable baby brother?" Zack asked.

"Give it a few years, he'll be acting like a mini her." Freddy told him with a chuckle.

"I pity the kids in his class." Zack said going along with Freddy.

"Shh," Joey began to fall asleep and the two wrapped him in a blanket and took him up to Zack's room and laid him down in his bed and quietly left the room.

"Thanks for help, I'd be totally lost without you."

"Well, I was volunteered against my will. Really it's you that chose to do this."

"You should get going home soon, it's pretty late." Zack said looking at his phone.

"Nah, I can't leave Joey, Cool if I stay the night here?" He asked.

"I guess so. I should have a sleeping bag somewhere you can use."

"Not aloud in your bed anymore huh?" Freddy asked with a laugh.

"You know my parent's or Ashton will freak if they see you in close proximity to me right?"

"I know, it was a joke, calm down." Freddy said. "I've been meaning to ask you something though." He added as they walked downstairs.

"What's up?" Zack asked.

"Back in the tree-house, after-after your date last Friday, why'd you kiss me?" Freddy asked.

"The last person I kissed was Justin and I wanted to fix that." Zack said with a shrug.

"You sure that was the only reason?" Freddy asked, taking a hold of Zack's hand.

"Freddy, we've been broken for over a month-" Zack began.

"Is that enough? Zack, I want you to look directly into my eyes and tell me in all honesty that don't feel for me at all."

"I can't do that Freddy. You were my first love, i lost my virginity to you and you're still one of my closest friends. I can't just not feel anything for you. But I don't love you romantically."

"Is that the truth?" Freddy asked.

"Yes. Completely."

"Then why are you gripping my hand even tighter?" It was true, Freddy may have grabbed his hand first, but Zack was holding his hand as tight as he could. Freddy put his other hand on Zack's shoulder causing Zack to flinch. "It's ok, Zack. It's me, not Justin. You know I won't hurt you." Freddy said before they leaned in and shared a soft kiss. Zack looked longingly into Freddy's eyes before he blinked and turned away.

"Get out." Zack said, turned away.

"Zack, I-"

"Don't." Zack stopped him. "I don't want to-" They heard a loud thump from upstairs and ran upstairs to check on Joey. "Joey?" They looked inside and saw he wasn't on the bed. "Joey?!" They began to frantically search Zack's room.

"Ok, you got up Joey! Ha ha. Come on out now." Freddy said looking through Zack's closet.

"He's not under my bed!" Zack said standing up, panicking.

"He's not where we were a year ago either." Freddy said from inside the closet. Freddy noticed the curtains blowing from the wind outside. "Zack, did you leave your window open when you left him in here?" Freddy asked. Zack's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

"JOEY!" Zack called. "Joey. can you hear me?! Are you out there?! Freddy, we gotta go look for him." Zack said running out his room and down the stairs. The were about to run out the door when they heard a voice on the couch.

"Shh, he's sleeping." They turned and saw Ashton holding Joey.

"Ash? What the Hell?" Zack asked.

"I saw you guys. I saw you kiss each other." He told them. "Are you two stupid? Do you really want to date again?"

"Ash, it's not-"

"I saw that look Zack. I know that look."

"Ashton's it's not Zack's fault. It's mine. I have a hard time letting go. Obviously. So I tried to pressure Zack into saying he still loves me when we should've been keeping an eye on Joey."

"Yeah, you should've. What if that wasn't me that climbed in your window? What would you have done? What would you have told Summer? You need to stay close to him ok?" Ashton said handing Joey over to Freddy.

"Ash, we're sorry." Zack told him.

"I'm going to bed now. Stay with the baby." The two of them stood in awkward silence.

"We should go to bed too." Zack said, heading for the stairs.

"Where's that sleeping bag you mentioned?" Freddy asked, following him.

"Just sleep in the bed with me and Joey, it's big enough." Zack told him.

"Are you sure?" Freddy asked.

"To be honest, I'm too tired to care." Zack responded.


	21. Fix it Gordon

Zack slowly sat up in his bed and yawned before looking at his alarm clock to see he still had an hour before he usually gets up. He laid back down and then he noticed he wasn't alone in his bed. Freddy was sleeping soundly beside him with Joey asleep on his chest. "Freddy, wake up." Zack whispered, shaking him lately. Freddy's eyes fluttered open who smiled at waking up to see Zack in the same bed as him.

"Good morning, Zack." He said looking down and smiling at the sight of Joey.

"Freddy, you should really go back to your place before school." Zack said climbing out of bed.

"Eh, I already have all my stuff here, there's really no point." Freddy explained, still looking down at Joey on his chest.

"Yeah, but do you really want my dad to see you here?" Zack asked, causing Freddy to shudder.

"I'll climb outside the window to meet you once Joey wakes up." Freddy decided. Almost as if on cue, Joey woke up. "Hey Buddy, you ready to go back to your sister?" Joey nodded in response. Freddy lifted him up and placed him on the bed before climbing out.

"I thought you slept naked?" Zack said, pulling his uniform out. Freddy was wearing the unbuttoned shirt of his uniform and a pair of light blue boxer-briefs.

"Zack, there was a baby in the bed." He reminded him.

"Oh right," Zack said as he turned around and began to get dressed. Freddy finished getting dressed and climbed out the window while Zack went downstairs to eat breakfast before leaving to walk to school.

* * *

"Thanks again for helping with Joey last night." Zack said as he feed Joey his bottle.

"No problem, I actually kind of liked when I'd have to watch Bart of my cousins." Freddy admitted.

"What's going on up ahead?" Zack asked, pointing out the small crowd around the front of the school. When they got closer they saw someone in the middle of the crowd was spray=painting the sign outside the school. What was even more surprising was who was in the middle of it. "Gordon?"

Gordon was indeed the one inside spraying different shapes all over the school's sign. Not well mind you. "Gordon Weissman, to the dean's office now!" An administrator yelled upon walking outside to see what was happening. Gordon shrugged and strolled inside with a sly smile.

"Wow, I never knew Gordon would do something like that." Zack said.

"I never knew he'd be such a horrible artist." Freddy noted.

"Freddy, I don't think that's the issue here."

"He really should've asked Bart for pointers." Freddy continued.

"Ok, I'm getting nowhere with you." Zack sighed handing Joey to Freddy. "Take him to Summer, you usually pass her class on the way to yours."

"Yes sir." Freddy said taking a hold of the baby before making his way through the school.

* * *

"Gordon, what were you think pulling a stunt like this?" The dean asked Gordon as he sat in her office.

"I don't know what to tell you Ms. Bliss, I guess I'm just a troubled child. Looks like you'll have to call my parents." He said.

"That won't be necessary Gordon. This was the first time you've ever broken to rules, so I think I'll just let you off with a warning this time. As long as you clean it off after school today." She told him.

"What? You can't do that. You're the dean Ms. Bliss, you need to hold students like me accountable for our actions. It's all about discipline!"

"Gordon, it's ok if you're having a bad day. It happens to all of us. Now please go to class." She said dismissing him. He sighed as left her office to walk down the hall.

* * *

"You actually liked it?" Lawrence asked Zack as he walked him to class.

"Yeah, taking care of a kid isn't so bad after all. Then again it was only for a few hours."

"Wasn't awkward hanging out with Freddy all night?"

"A little. Can I tell you a secret?" Zack asked him quietly.

"Of course, we're best friends bro, what's up?"

"Waking up this morning, seeing Freddy in bed with me, with Joey asleep on his chest, made me really happy. Something about it just felt right, ya know?" Zack admitted.

"Zack, do you like him again? Like the way you use to?"

"Am I in love with him? Is that what you're asking?"

"Yeah, that."

"I-I don't know. Larry what do I do?"

"I'm not sure. I've never been through something like this before. Maybe just try talking to Freddy." Lawrence suggested.

"I don't know, he seems like he's still seems like he's stuck me." Zack told him.

"Well I don't know what else to tell you man." The two of them heard the bell ring. "That's our cue to go, catch you later." He said walking off.

* * *

Zack walked into his class and found Gordon in his seat next to him as usual, but had his head down on the desk.

"Rough morning huh?" Gordon looked up at Zack before putting his head back down. "How many weeks did Ms. Bliss give you?" Zack asked amused.

"That's the problem, she didn't. She just wants me to clean the sign and then that's all."

"Oh sure, she gave me four days for missing the trash can toss, but you spray-paint the school's sign and she just wants you to clean it off. Why do you want to get in trouble anyways?"

"My dad's home," Gordon told him.

"Your dad? You never talk about your dad."

"Guess why," Gordon said. But before Zack could respond, the teacher entered the room and class began cutting off the conversation. Zack couldn't help but think of what Gordon's dad was like. Gordon really never has talked about his dad before so Zack just figured that Gordon doesn't know him or that maybe he was passed like Freddy's dad. That brought up another question, why was Gordon suddenly acting up now that his dad was in town?

The bell rang, signaling the end of class and Gordon got up fast to leave the classroom. Zack packed up his stuff and ran to catch up. "Hey Gordon, wait up." Zack called out. Gordon slowed down to wait for him. "What's up with your dad man? C'mon you can talk to me about this." Gordon took a deep breath before he finally answered.

"Well, you know how your dad was over involved in your life for the longest time?" Gordon asked.

"Still tries to be, but yeah."

"Well, my dad's the exact opposite. He hasn't been home since Thanksgiving, and even then he was only home for that day. We got a call from him on Hanukkah, but that's it."

"So, is that why you're acting up?" Zack asked.

"I figured that if I get in enough trouble before he leaves again, he'll have to come to school to see me."

"Wow, that makes alot of sense actually." Zack admitted.

"I'll talk to you later, I got a math class I need to go fail." Gordon said leaving. Zack walked the other way to history class, still thinking about Gordon and his dad.

* * *

He couldn't think of what it'd be like to just have a parent that was almost completely uninvolved in his life. His parents, especially his dad, have always made sure to play a big part of his life. They've eased up now that he's in high school, but trying to think of them barely there was weird to him.

"Zack, you sleeping with your eyes open again?" Freddy's voice brought him back to reality.

"Sorry, I was just thinking-what do you mean again?" Zack stopped explaining once he realized what Freddy said.

"I haven't really said until now, but you sometimes sleep with your eyes slightly open. It's creepy." Freddy said, nervously.

"How often?" Zack asked, feeling self-conscious.

"Only when you're **really** tired." Freddy told him.

"So always then? Anyways, I was just thinking about Gordon."

"Oh, new crush huh?" Freddy asked with a laugh.

"Cute, he's just dealing with family stuff that's all."

"Gotcha." Freddy said before the fell silent. "I miss Joey."

"You really liked taking care of him huh?"

"With you, I did." Freddy told him. Zack felt himself blush and looked away. "Zack I-"

"Alright everyone, butts in chairs!" The teacher said walking in the classroom.

"Later ok?" Zack asked, turning to face the front.

* * *

"Ok people, just because Summer isn't here doesn't mean you all get to slack off. The Enchantment Under the Sea dance is only two weeks away, So I wanna see you all taking today's practice seriously." Leonard told everyone.

"Wow, you're doing of good job of taking charge when she's not around." Chiaki told him.

"Thanks, now I just need to master how to lead someone on long enough that it completely shatters them when I leave." He said walking off.

"I'm glad we're not bitter ex's." Zack said to Freddy. Freddy nodded in agreement.

"Hey Zack, can we talk now?" Freddy asked. The two were sitting by the window while most of the other band members were all practicing or setting things up.

"Actually, can I ask you something first?"

"Um, yeah, ask me anything." Freddy said, getting nervous.

"Do you miss it? Miss us I mean? Being together and stuff." Zack asked, intertwining their pinkie fingers. Freddy's heart began to pound incredibly fast and his breathing became heavy. He wanted so badly to say yes but…

" _Get out."_

" _Zack I-"_

" _Don't. I don't want to-"_

Freddy couldn't help but remember last night. He knew they shouldn't be. "Nah, I mean we had alot of fun being together, but I like what we have now. I think it's nice being friends you know?" Freddy lied and flashed a convincing smile.

"Oh, ok." Zack said looking down, a touch of sadness in his voice.

 _Well, what did you want me to say Zack?_ Freddy thought.

* * *

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." Gordon said walking in.

"No biggie, go help out Marco with the lights. He's in the gym right now." Chiaki told him.

"Got it, on my way." He said leaving the room. He was heading down the hall when Marta stepped out after him.

"Gordon, wait. Zack told me about your dad."

"Of course he did." Gordon said annoyed.

"I can't imagine what it must be like living with that." She said.

"That's just it, it's not living with it that hurts. It's living without it that makes it worse." He told her. Marta ran up and hugged him tightly.

"You need to talk to him Gordon." She said.

"That's the problem Marta, I literally can't. He's always on his phone for work."

"You have to put your foot down. Make him listen to you." She told him. He thought for a minute about his dad and what Marta just said.

"You're right, I've gotta do it. Thanks Marta." He said, kissing kissing her on the forehead.

* * *

Gordon was sitting in his room at home. He had asked his dad to talk to him upstairs and he said he'd be up in a minute. He saw his door open and his dad walk in still on his phone. "Ok, ok, I'll have to call you back in just a minute. My son wants to have a word with me." He said to whoever was on the other end. _Yeah, a word, that's probably all I'll get out._ Gordon thought. "Ok son, what's up?" He said sitting on his bed.

"Dad, I've wanted to say this for awhile. I want to spend more time with you." He told him.

"What do you call what we're doing right now?" He asked.

"No, Dad that's not what I meant. When's the last time we went out to do something together? When's the last time we went out fishing or bowling or anything?"

"Gordon, I know you want me to spend more time at home, but you have to understand that I have to work very hard to support this family." He explained.

"I understand Dad, but I need you here a little more often." His dad was about to respond when his phone began to ring.

"Just a minute Son, Weissman here. I know, i know, I'll catch a plane ride out to Portland tomorrow."

"Dad," Gordon tugged on his shirt. His father looked back at him.

"Listen, I'm back home right now and I want to spend time with my son. Can't I just-yes. Yes I understand. Gordon, I'm sorry but my hands are tied right now. I hope you understand."

"Dad please, I just want-" He was cut off by his father's phone ringing again. Gordon rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Hello, yes I'm aware. I'll be heading out tomorrow, I just told Donovan. He didn't call you? Hang on, I have another call coming. Hello?"

"Dad," Gordon's voice came through.

"Gordon?" He turned around to see his son on his phone.

"Is this the only way I can get your attention?!" He cried.

"Son,"

"I know what you do is important. I know you do it for me and for Mom, so we can live here an I can go to school with my friends, but I need you here. I just want to do things with my dad again." He said with his eyes beginning to tear up.

"Gordon, I-I didn't know-"

"Of course you didn't. This is the longest conversation we've had in years." He said before the two of them hugged. "Can you please stay? Just for a little longer?" He heard his dad's phone ringing again and let out a sigh.

"Weissman. Yeah, of course." He looked back over at the disappointed look on Gordon's face. "Actually, I'm afraid I'll have to cancel. I'm going to take time off to stay home with my family. Good day." He said hanging up. Gordon couldn't help but smile and hug his father again.


	22. Like it Was Meant to Be

"Wow, this place is coming along nicely." Freddy said walking in the gym. It was Saturday, the dance was on Friday, Frankie and Leonard had been putting up decorations with some help from other students while Gordon and Marco were getting the effects and lights ready for the past week now.

"Thanks, you guys don't sound half bad either." Frankie responded.

"Hey Freddy, can you hold the ladder in place, while I climb up to realign the sign?" Leonard asked.

"Um, sure." He said walking over and holding it.

"Oh hey, Freddy." Zack said, walking out from behind backstage.

"Zack? Hi, wait what are you doing here?" Freddy asked, turning around and letting go of the ladder.

"Freddy, wait, what the Hell?" Leonard called from the top.

"Gordon told me that he and Marco needed some help so I came here after practice. What are you doing here?"

"Well, the dance is only a few days away so I thought I'd check out how the decorations were coming along."

"It sure looks nice huh?" Zack asked, looking around.

"Yeah, it does." Freddy said looking right at Zack.

"Hey, I was gonna go grab a bite to eat since I'm done helping out upstairs, do you wanna come along?"

"Yeah, I'd love to, let's go." He said as they walked out.

"Freddy, I'm still up here!" Leonard called. "Hello?!"

* * *

"Low on cash huh?" Freddy asked.

"What makes you say that?" Zack asked.

"I don't think I've ever seen you in a McDonald's before." Freddy told him. The two of them were sitting in a booth buy one of the windows.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, maybe I won't tell you." He told him.

"Hey Zack, about the dance, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me maybe. Like as friends I mean."

"Oh, so that's why you've bringing Bart to band practice." Zack said, putting a chicken nugget in his mouth.

"Guilty as charged. I figured we could have fun at a dance for once instead of being on stage the whole time."

"Idk Freddy, I still need to play my part and going to a dance together? I'm not really we're there yet." He said shyly.

"Come on Zack, we're friends, we should be comfortable enough to go place together. I mean you asked me out to eat after all."

"I guess so,"

"We'll keep it completely platonic, please Zack." Freddy asked, making a puppy face.

"Ok Freddy, you win. We can go to the dance together." Zack caved, "As friends." He added.

"As friends," Freddy repeated.

* * *

"As friends? What the Hell does that mean?" Freddy asked out loud at home later.

"Zack again?" His mom asked.

"No Mom, it's the other boy I've been hopelessly in love with since kindergarten, but thank you for playing."

"There's that Jones humor that I love so much. You can talk to me you know? I was in high school once upon a time too."

"Yeah, like a million years ago."

"I am not that old." She told him. "Listen, I know relationships can be complicated especially at your age, but you need to understand that this situation will pass. And if you want my opinion, I think you should try dating other people. Then if you still find you like Zack more, go back to him, but it's not healthy to be hung up on him constantly."

"Mom, I tried that. All throughout middle school I did. I dated around to tell myself I was straight and that I'm not in love with the same guy that I've been crushing on forever. But it didn't work, I'm still sitting here and I still love him."

"How does he feel about you?"

"I don't know, he keeps sending me mixed signals. He usually talks to me like there's nothing between us, but then he kissed me twice since we broke up and sounded disappointed when I lied and said I liked us as friends."

"Wait what?" She asked.

"He asked if I missed being with him and I said I liked us as friends because I thought that's what he wanted to hear." Freddy explained.

"Freddy, that was probably an invitation to be with him again." His mom told him.

"That would've been nice to know beforehand." He said annoyed.

"Even if it wasn't, you should've told the truth. Lying won't get you anywhere."

"I know, I know, but what if I told him that I still liked him and he stopped talking to me? I don't like that we're just friends, but it's better than not talking at all. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have him in my life at all."

"I understand, but you can't live a lie. You need to tell Zack the truth, not matter what the outcome."

"Yeah, I know." He said sitting up. "Mom, I'm scared." He told her. She opened up her arms as the two of them hugged while she patted his back.

"It's gonna be ok, honey. It'll be hard, but it's better than sitting around hoping for something."

* * *

Ashton was down in the basement. He had just finished shooting a...special video for the internet when he got a text from Zack.

 _Z: Are you filming rn?_

 _A: Nope, just finished. You can come on down._

Zack opened the door to the basement and went down to where Ashton was finishing getting dressed. "What's up shit head?" He asked.

"It's...it's about Freddy," He began.

"Don't date him, bye." He said, shooing him out.

"This isn't a date, just listen." Ashton rolled his eyes, but let his brother continue. "So, he asked me to go to the dance with him, but just as a friend."

"Yeah, that's a trap. He wants you. Don't say yes."

"I kind of already did." He said, nervously.

"Then why are you talking to me about it? Sounds like your mind's made up. It's not like you still like him or anything like tha-" He stopped and turned to Zack, noticing he was avoiding eye contact. "Are you shitting me right now?"

"Ash, I don't know if I like him. I might, but I really don't know anymore."

"Then what do you want?"

"I just need to vent really."

"Keep going, I'm meeting up with Jessie soon."

"Ok, so when Summer chose Freddy to look after her brother, I said I'd watch with him because I wanted to help. I thought it'd be a good thing to learn how to watch a kid, but I really liked spending time with Freddy too."

"And that kiss,"

"I didn't stop him. Also, remember my date with Justin?"

"That piece of shit? How could I forget?" Ashton said, feeling himself getting angry.

"Well, that night, I called Freddy over and we went up to the tree-house." He told him.

"Please tell me you didn't."

"No, of course not. I don't know if I can anymore. But I told Freddy about what happened and before he left, I kissed him. I told him it was to ge Justin out of my mouth and that was true, but it was also because I remembered how much Freddy cared for me and I needed to feel that again after what happened. I don't know why, but last week, I asked Freddy if he missed being with me."

"What'd he say?" Ashton asked, very interested in the answer.

"He said no. Said he had alot of fun being with me, but he liked us being friends. I don't know why, but I felt a little sad when he told me that."

"Zack, you like him. Just go to the dance with him. It goes against my better judgement. But, you're actually better with him than without."

"R-really?"

"Really, really." He said putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm taking off. If you're gonna stay down here, don't mess with my stuff."

"Don't worry, this place creeps me out." He said following his brother out.

* * *

The night of the dance came around. Freddy skated over to Zack's house since Ashton had agreed to give them both a ride. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Zack opened the door, with his hair still wet and took a look at Freddy. "I didn't even know you own clothes that nice." He said as a joke. Freddy was wearing a white button up shirt with a black bow tie, a white suit jacket over it and black slacks. "Matches your hat too."

"My mom dug it out. Said I should wear it."

"Well, you look good. The suit I mean, it looks really good. I mean, you don't not look good." Zack stumbled over his words. "Come on in, I just need to go up stairs and change."

"If you need, I could always hel-"

"Sit." Ashton said walking in. Freddy sat down on the couch.

"I'll be right back down. Just give me two minutes." Zack walked up the stairs leaving Freddy and Ashton alone.

"So, crazy this is happening again huh?"

"Shut up and listen. This is, without a doubt, your last chance. Understand?" He said.

"Look Ash, I appreciate the sentiment, this isn't a date. Zack and I are just friends."

"Sure, sure. Whatever helps you feel better." He said, not facing the blond. He was about to open his mouth to protest when Zack came back down stairs.

"Ok, I'm ready." Zack said walking down stairs. Freddy looked over and felt his breath leave him. Zack walked down wearing a teal suit jacket, matching teal slacks, a teal tie and a pink button up shirt. Freddy completely lost himself staring at Zack until he felt Ashton shove him a little.

"You look really good. Like really good." He said regaining his breath.

"Not my choice to wear this. All the band members have to wear this." Zack explained. "You'd know this if you didn't have Bart take your place." He added.

"Can I help it if I wanted to dance with you instead?" Freddy asked with a blush. "Besides, he's come a long way."

"Ok, just so you know, I can't be with you the whole night. I still have to play."

"I know, that's fine. It's not this is, like a date or anything." He said with a laugh before the two fell silent.

"Hey idiots, we going or what?" Ashton asked, stepping out the door. They both turned to follow.

* * *

Ashton pulled up to the gym at the school and Zack climbed out. Freddy was about to when Ash stopped him. "A word please."

"Go ahead Zack, I'll catch up." Freddy said sitting down.

"Remember-"

"This is my last chance I know. But don't worry, I don't know if Zack even likes me like I like him." Ashton sat in silence, knowing full well how Zack felt.

"If you hurt him again-"

"I would never, in my wildest dreams, want to see Zack hurt the way he was before. I promise." Freddy said before climbing out. He went inside and saw that the gym did look really nice now they had finish putting all the decorations up. It barely even looked like the same building. He saw Zack up on stage with the rest of the band and smiled to himself before walking over and hopping up with them. "Hey guys,"

"Oh hey bro," Bart said, still paying attention to the rest of the group.

"You sure you got this little man?"

"Well, that depends on how good my teacher is." He said smiling at him.

"Yeah, you got this."

"I'll catch up with you later Freddy." Zack told him as the band grabbed their instruments.

"Are you guys dating again?" Lawrence asked. Both of them lit up red.

"N-no, we're just here as friends. Right Freddy?" Zack looked over, but Freddy was already leaving.

* * *

Freddy was out in the crowd when the band started playing. Bart really did sound good, Freddy doubted that anyone could really tell the difference.

After awhile the band took a break and Zack came to join him in the crowd. "You guys sound great tonight."

"Thanks, I kind of wish you were playing with us though."

"Yeah, but look at Bart," The two looked over to Bart laughing along with the other band members. "The kid's having a blast."

"You really are a good brother."

"Say that a little louder why don't you?" He said before they both laughed.

"They really do look cute together, huh?" Katie asked Tomika.

"I still don't know how the couldn't make it work." She responded.

"You girls thinking what I'm thinking?" Summer interrupted, walking in between them.

Zack looked over and saw the rest of the band moving back to the stage. "Guess that's my cue to leave." Zack said, walking away from Freddy. But when he was about to climb onto the stage he was stopped by Chiaki.

"We got this, just go have fun." Chiaki told him.

"You're sure?" He asked.

"Trust me," Zack shrugged and walked back to meet up with Freddy.

"They just kick you out or something?" He asked as a joke.

"They said they got this one?" Zack answered as more of a question. "What they Hell are they planning?" Just after he asked, the music began and Chiaki's voice came out over the microphone.

"Pull that special someone in close and tight now."

"Oh, that's their plan." Zack said, annoyed. He looked over and saw Freddy holding his hand out.

"I don't mind dancing if you don't." He said. Zack took a deep breath and took his hand.

 _Chiaki: Earth angel, Earth angel, will you be mine?_

 _My darling dear, love you for all time._

 _I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you._

"Gee, think they're trying to tell us something?" Zack asked.

"I don't mind." Freddy told him as they continued to dance.

 _C: I fell for you, and I knew_

 _The vision of your love's loveliness_

 _I hope and I pray, that someday_

 _I'll be the vision of your hap, happiness_

"H-hey Zack?"

"Yeah?"

"A while back, you asked me if I missed being with you. Now, I'm the one asking. Do you miss it? Miss us?" He asked.

"I mean, How could I not? We had so much fun together. And everything just felt right when I was with you, ya know? Whenever I woke up and saw you sleeping next to me, I knew everything was gonna be alright. But if you just wanna be friends, it's fine I won't force you-"

"Zack, I lied." Freddy said abruptly.

"What?"

"I don't want to just be friends. I want us back together. Nothing's made sense since you left. Zack, I…"

" _Get out"_

He could shake the feeling of what happened that night. That was until he felt Zack's hand tilt his chin back up to look him in the eyes. Wait. Eyes? "Look at that, I don't have to lean down to kiss you anymore."

"I guess I have gotten taller huh?"

"Now, what were you gonna say?"

"Oh yeah. Zack, I love you." He said with confidence.

"I love you too." He said before they finally came back together for a long, romantic kiss.

 _C: Oh, oh, oh, Earth angel, Earth angel, please be mine_

 _My darling dear, love you for all time_

 _I'm just a fool,_

They separated as Zack rested his head on Freddy's shoulder as they continued to dance.

 _A fool in love with you_

"What do you say we get out of here?" Zack asked with a smirk. Freddy smiled at him as they made their way through the crowd, out into the hallways of the school and happened upon an unlocked classroom.

"I've always wanted to do this." He said as he lifted up Zack and set him down on a desk before the two began to furiously make-out. They broke apart for air as Freddy gently pushed Zack down on his back and began to unbutton Zack's shirt.

Zack closed his eyes and felt a chill go up his spine and an faint image of Justin flashed in his mind. "Stop. Stop!" He cried sitting bolt upright and breathing fast.

"What? What's wrong? Are you ok?" Freddy asked, getting worried.

"The way you were unbuttoning my shirt, that's how...that's how he-"

"Ok, we'll stop ok?" Freddy said butting his own shirt back up.

"I'm sorry, I know you really wanted to." Zack said, looking down.

"It's ok Zack. You're ok." Freddy said rubbing his boyfriends back with one hand and holding one of Zack's with the other. "You're gonna be ok. I'm right here and I'll stay here. I promise." He said planting a kiss on Zack's cheek. "Let's go back to the dance and have some fun."

"Ok, after you hold me a little longer." Zack said, leaning into Freddy.

* * *

Freddy was walking Zack home now that the dance had finished. They did return to the dance floor to have some more fun before it had to come to and end.

"Um, so thanks. For everything." Zack said approaching his front door.

"No problem. You know I'll always be there for you." He said with a smile. "Oh, in all the excitement, I forgot." He reached under his shirt and undid the half heart necklace with the initials "FJ" imprinted on it. "You dropped this." He said holding it out.

"You kept them?" Zack asked, taking it from Freddy and putting it back on.

"Never took them off for a second." He said, showing off the "ZM" necklace he was wearing. The two gazed longingly at each other before the front door opened behind Zack with Ashton standing there.

"Get inside." He said. Zack waved a walked around his brother. Freddy and Ashton looked at each other for a second. "Are you gonna come inside or stand there looking stupid all night?" Freddy's eye' shot open wide before smiling and running inside after Zack.


	23. Class Dismissed

"I've missed you so much." Freddy told Zack as they laid awake in Zack's bed.

"I've missed you more." He responded as they shared a kiss. "I can't believe I ever thought we did better apart."

"I can phrase it better." He said playfully. " _I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me."_ He sang.

" _And I can't get enough of you baby, can you get enough of me?"_ Zack continued the song. He loved Kiss and Freddy sang that song to him back on his birthday so it's practically become his favorite song. "You really don't mind that we can't...you know, do the horizontal dance?"

"It wouldn't be enjoyable if you weren't comfortable doing it. You waited until I was ready, I'm willing to wait for you to heal from what happened." He told him running his hand through Zack's hair.

"I'm sorry, if I never went out with Justin-"

"Hey, it's not your fault. You couldn't've known what he was. You don't have to apologize for anything."

"God, I love you." Zack said with a smile.

"I love you too Babe." Freddy said pecking Zack on the nose.

* * *

"I'm glad everything worked about between you and your dad." Marta said to Gordon in the hallway Monday morning before school. They always showed up to school early to talk since their first classes weren't really close to each other.

"And I'm glad you at Alicia stayed friends. Not too mention you're photography has gotten really good." He complimented, before they leaned in and kissed.

"I'll see you after class," She said with a giggle walking off. Gordon was left smiling before turning around and bumping right into Billy.

"Oh, Hey Billy-"

"Can't talk. This look," He said gesturing to his face, "isn't gonna work." He said walking past him and heading towards the boy's room.

"I'll help you get through this." Gordon said as he watched Billy walk away.

* * *

"Clark, I'll need you to come with us to our show in Chicago this summer." Summer told her secretary as they walked through school.

"R-really Miss Hathaway?" He asked, trying to keep up with her.

"I know it's short notice, but it'll really help me alot if you come with us." She continued.

"You can count on me ma'am." He said before heading off to his class. She walked right past Leonard and into Chiaki's class and took her seat.

"Are you nervous?" She asked.

"About my father coming with us to decide if he'll let me stay here with you all? No, why would I be?" He said sarcastically.

"Don't worry, you guys have been practicing your asses off. You'll do just fine."

"Thanks Sum, you're a good student and a good manager, but you're also a really good friend." He told her.

* * *

"How long have you liked me before you-before we-" Lawrence tried to ask Tomika.

"About a six months. I noticed how much I really liked you near the end of middle school." She admitted. "You've really matured alot in only one year of high school though. Got your black belt and made up with Zack."

"I guess I really am Mr. Cool huh?" He asked.

"I don't know, you're pretty hot to me." She said pulling him into a deep kiss. He was standing there with a goofy smile on his face.

* * *

"You already have the lights and sound figured out?" Alicia asked Marco, who was sitting outside on his laptop.

"Just about. Summer sent me images of the stage we'll be playing on and I got to work right away." He explained.

"Do you ever stop working?" She asked.

"No. My brain needs to stay working. Can't risk losing any information." He said.

"You really need this vacation." She said walking inside.

* * *

"We finally made it." Katie said taking her seat in her class.

"Just this week and we're finally done." Frankie said sitting next to her.

"And we can spend the whole summer together." She said seductively.

"I love that tone of yours." He said sitting back.

* * *

"Are we late?" Zack asked, slightly panicked as he and Freddy entered the school.

"No," Freddy told him right before the bell rang. "Now we are." He laughed. Zack groaned before he kissed Freddy's cheek before running off down the hall.

"No running in the halls Zack." Ms. Bliss said walking past him.

"Sorry," He slowed his pace but continued his direction.

"You really need to stop sleeping with Freddy on school nights." Gordon whispered to Zack in class.

"I wasn't sleeping with Freddy. Well, I was sleeping with him, but we just sleeping, I swear." Zack said, tripping over his words.

"Right, I'm sure your hormones would let you just lie in bed with him."

"Oh shut up, you just wish you and Marta could figure out whatever it is you have." Zack snapped at him.

"Ok, ouch." Gordon said turning away.

"I'm sorry about that. I-I didn't-" Zack said awkwardly

"Hey, it's ok. It was a pretty good joke." Gordon told him.

* * *

"Mr. Jones, thank you for joining us." His science teacher said as he entered the class late.

"No problem, I don't know if you get paid less when I'm not here, so I do worry a bit when I can't make it." He responded, to which some of the class laughed.

"Take your seat, Freddy." He told him. Freddy saluted and walked to his desk behind Marta.

"Have a nice morning?" She asked.

"Well, I woke up to Zack this morning so, yeah it's pretty good." He said sitting back to relax.

"I'm glad you two got back together." She said.

"Me too. Nothing felt right with him gone." He looked up and closed his eyes with a smile on his face. "I hope we're never apart again."

* * *

"Guys, this year has been an incredible experience." Summer told everyone at practice at the end of the week after school. "When we all started this year, I didn't think we'd get a new member to start the band up again." She said gesturing to Chiaki.

"And when I came to America to become a teacher, I didn't think I would end up joining School of Rock. Thanks you guys." He said to them all.

"You think that's crazy?" Zack said stepping in. "Not only did I finally tell Freddy I like him, but we managed to get together, break up, and fall in love all over again."

"Meanwhile, mine and Frankie's stable relationship feels like it took a back seat to that." Katie said. "Speaking of, I am so happy that I look **someone** in the eyes around here."

"You didn't broadcast any problems you had." Marco told her.

"No one asked," Frankie said.

"We're doing fine too." Tomika mentioned from across the room.

"Yeah, he just had to become a junior's side piece and have her dump him after wasting all of our afternoons to try to impress her." Freddy said, hiding his annoyance.

"Not my proudest moment," Lawrence said with a sigh.

"Tomika's crush was more obvious than Zack's. Are you sure those contacts work man?" Leonard asked.

"Leonard, shut up." Summer told him.

"Aw, you don't mean that." He said in a mocking tone.

"Dating you was a mistake." She said, dead serious.

"Wow, ok. Good thing you weren't pregnant after all." He said, sitting down.

"Hey, guys can we just take a moment to talk about what happened here?" Gordon ask, pulling Marta over to him.

"Sure, you're welcome." Alicia said before fist bumping with Marco.

"What are they talking about?" Gordon asked Marta.

"I have no idea." Marta said.

"I don't think any of you are focusing on what's really important," Billy said, stepping into the middle of the room. "Me," He said looking in his mirror.

"Speaking of small people," Freddy said patting Billy on the head, earning annoyed glance. "Isn't it cool that Bart can play with us now?"

"Yeah, you're surprisingly a good teacher." Zack told him.

"Thanks Babe," He said kissing Zack's forehead.

"We never did get to play your song Zack," Summer mentioned.

"It's alright, I don't think this one was that good anyway."

"We should play it, just once. For us you know?" Freddy suggested.

"Yeah, c'mon Zack." Lawrence encouraged.

"Let's hear it." Tomika said, joining in.

"Need me to sing it again?" Katie asked.

"No thanks, I think I can handle it." He told her while they all grabbed their instruments and began to play the beat.

" _I followed my heart into the fire_

 _Got burned, got broken down by desire_

 _I tried, I tried but the smoke in my eyes_

 _Left me blurry, blurry and blind_

 _I picked all the pieces up off the ground_

 _I've burned all my fingers but that's gone now_

 _Got the glue in my hands I'm stickin' to the plan_

 _Stickin' to the plan that says 'I can'_

 _Do anything at all_

 _I can do anything at all_

 _This is my kiss goodbye_

 _You can stand alone and watch me fly_

 _'Cause nothing's keeping me down gonna let it all up_

 _Come on and say right now, right now, right now_

 _This is my big hello_

 _'Cause I'm giving, never letting go_

 _I can finally see, it's not just a dream_

 _When you set it all free, all free, all free_

 _You set it all free_

 _(Oh oh oh)_

 _(Oh oh oh)_

 _(Oh oh oh)_

 _I was a boy caught under your thumb_

 _But my star's gonna shine brighter than your sun_

 _And I will reach so high,_

 _Shoot so far_

 _Gonna hit, gonna hit, hit every target_

 _Make it count this time_

 _I will make it count this time_

 _This is my kiss goodbye_

 _You can stand alone and watch me fly_

 _'Cause nothing's keeping me down_

 _I'm gonna let it all out_

 _Come on and say right now, right now, right now_

 _This is my big hello_

 _'Cause I'm here and never letting go_

 _I can finally see,_

 _It's not just a dream_

 _When you set it all free, all free, all free_

 _You set it all free (oh oh oh)_

 _You set it all free (oh oh oh)_

 _You set it all free (oh oh oh)_

 _*guitar solo*_

 _This is my kiss goodbye_

 _You can stand alone and watch me fly_

 _'Cause nothing's keeping me down_

 _I'm gonna let it all out_

 _Come on and say right now, right now, right now_

 _This is my big 'hello'_

 _'Cause I'm here and never letting go_

 _I can finally see,_

 _It's not just a dream_

 _When you set it all free, all free, all free_

 _You set it all free (oh oh oh)_

 _You set it all free (oh oh oh)_

 _You set it all free (oh oh oh)_

 _You set it all free (oh oh oh)_

 _You set it all free."_

All the non players clapped at the end of the song while the rest of them took a bow. "I never got to hear the whole song until now. That was really good." Summer told them.

"Thanks, I'm really glad we got to play it at least once." Zack said with a smile.

"Well, it's been fun but I think it's time for you all to go home." Chiaki told them.

"Right, I expect to see you all bright and early next Monday morning. Come along Clark." Summer said as her and Clark left.

"I'm going to head home and make sure all your outfits are in check. Bye guys." Billy said walking out the door.

"Well, I've had enough of school to last a lifetime. I'm out of hear y'all." Leonard said before he walked out.

"Now's a perfect time of day to take pictures, so Alicia and I will be going." Marta grabbed Alicia's hand and the two left.

"I think I'll go, uh, help her out." Gordon said following them.

"And I'll be there to clean up the drool." Marco commented standing up and leaving next.

"Well, I feel like now it's my turn." Frankie said standing up. "Freddy my man, I'll catch you later." He said as they first bumped. "Katie Baby, I'll see you tomorrow." He said with a wink and then leaving.

"I need to get going too." Tomika said getting up.

"Tomika no, you can't leave yet." Lawrence said taking her hands in his.

"Actually, it's time for both of us to go. My mom's here to pick us up." He said showing him the text.

"Oh right. I'll see you all later." Lawrence waved to Freddy and Katie before he and Zack did their secret handshake. Followed by them walking out.

"I guess I'm out of here too. I think I'll go sleep forever." Katie said as she stolled out of the door.

"Guess it's time for us to go home Babe." Freddy said to Zack.

"Yeah, let's get going. Bye Chiaki." They both waved to the teacher as the left the now empty class.

Chiaki looked amongst the class and smile to himself before sitting back in his chair. "I'm in the band." He said to himself with a smile.


	24. Chicago Rock Fest 1: Welcome to the City

"Whoa!" Zack, Freddy, Lawrence and Tomika started out the window in amazement at the city of Chicago. They had landed not too long ago and they were all looking out from inside the airport.

"Are you telling me none of you have been here before?" Katie asked walking up to them with her bags.

"That is exactly what we're telling you." Lawrence told her.

"I can't wait to get to your uncle's hotel." Zack said walking away from the window.

"Speaking of, Kate, did you-" Freddy asked walking up.

"Yes, you two are sharing a room." She said. Zack and Freddy looked at each other with a smile.

"If everyone has their things, i think it's time to go." Summer told everyone, heading for the exit.

"Miss Hathaway, Mr. Tani still hasn't arrived in town." Clark told her as he followed her closely behind.

"He's a grown man, he'll make it in time. Besides, he's the one who decided to drive from Austin with the instruments."

* * *

"That is the last time I take directions from a blind guy." Chiaki said to himself in japanese as he drove seemingly in the middle of nowhere with his father asleep near the back of the bus.

* * *

"Are we ready to leave now?" Summer asked again.

"Now we are." Gordon said with a sigh as he and Marta left the gift shop carrying four bags each.

* * *

The band left the airport and climbed into two different airport shuttles which drove them through the city with some of them looking out the window to see more of the city as they drove along. They eventually pulled up to a large hotel and they all got out.

"Is that Katie I see?" A man in a suit standing outside asked as they all got out.

"Uncle Richie!" She said running up to hug him. "Everyone this is my uncle, he owns the hotel."

"After the first two arrived I was excited to meet the rest of you." He told them.

"First two?" Lawrence asked.

"Well, it's about time you all showed up." Michelle said as she and Eleni walked outside.

"Eleni!" Tomika said surprised.

"Michelle?" Zack said confused and nervous.

"Sup Zack? Good to see you're out of your straight phase." She said with a wink. Zack looked down see Freddy clutching his hand and smiled with a blush. "Still a cutie though," She added.

"You flirting with someone else right in front of me?" Billy asked walking up to them.

"Oh sweetie, I'm just playing." She said as the two shared a kiss before he turned to Eleni and had just as passionate of a kiss with her.

"Let's go inside ladies, heat like this isn't good for you." Billy said wrapping his arms around both of them before walking inside while everyone looked on surprised.

"Did...did Billy just out-man the rest of us?" Frankie asked.

"Wasn't that hard, now let's talk his advice and head inside." Summer said as she walked inside.

"Did you know they'd be here?" Freddy asked her.

"Of course, they're still part of the band. I couldn't live with myself if I left them out." She explained. The group walked inside and enjoyed the cool air while Katie's uncle handed out the keys to their rooms.

"We were able to get all of you on the same floor, up on the thirtieth floor. Do try to keep the noise low once it gets dark."

"I got it Uncle, thanks." Katie said taking all the keys. "Lawrence, you're rooming with Clark. Marta, you and Alicia will be sharing a room so calm down. Marco, you and Gordon have a room so you two can work. Frankie sweetie, you're with Leonard. Zack and Freddy obviously. Tomika you're with me and Summer, you and Billy each have your own rooms. Everyone cool?"

"Um, I have a question." Leonard spoke up.

"Great, let's go Tomiks." She said walking to the elevator.

* * *

"Shit, this is fancy." Tomika said upon them entering.

"Only the best for my friends." Katie said as she was putting close in the closet.

"I should go out sightseeing, but I need to sleep, and not in a plane chair." She sighed, sprawling out on her bed.

"I hear ya, sister." Katie agreed.

* * *

"So, everyone just gonna ignore me now?" Leonard asked.

"Dude, girls network. No telling what Summer's said about you since your break-up." Frankie told him.

"What about Freddy, he literally left me hanging one time to talk to Zack."

"Freddy was talking to Zack. That fact that you think you can get either of their attention when they're flirting, shows that you clearly don't know them."

* * *

"Gordon, I need your input on this before you go." Marco said from his laptop.

"What's up?"

"So, this is the light set up I have so far, but I think we might need more for the size of the theater we'll be playing in. What do you think?"

"It does look a little unfinished. Tell you what, Summer's going to heading down there tomorrow, why don't we go with her so we can get a feel for what we'll need in terms of sound quality as well?"

"That makes sense, I like that plan. You can go see Marta now."

"Cool, peace out."

* * *

"Thank you for bringing my things Clark, but you really didn't need to." Summer said as they entered her room.

"No, no, it was my pleasure Miss Hathaway."

"Right, um listen Clark, when we're alone, you can call me Summer." She said, in a shy voice.

"Oh, sure. I'll um, catch you later...Summer." He said with a smile as he left the room.

"You two are so cute together." Alicia said as she was passing by the room with a bag of chips.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"I have eyes you know." She said walking away, laughing.

* * *

"There's only one bed." Zack said standing still in his a Freddy's room.

"Yep, that there is." Freddy said next to him. They both felt a little awkward. It was obvious what Katie was thinking, but she doesn't know what happened with Justin not too long ago. Zack still wasn't ready to start being sexual again, but he knew he could at least lie in bed with Freddy though, so only having one wasn't too bad.

"Hey Zack, can I kiss you?" Zack laughed a little. "What's so funny?"

"You're so cute. You know you don't have to ask." He told him.

"I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable Babe."

"Freddy, **you** could never make me feel uncomfortable." Zack said as they sat down and began to make out.

* * *

"A motel? Really Chiaki?" His father asked as they entered their room.

"I thought you liked me saving money." Chiaki responded as he carried both of their bags in. "I'm gonna head back to the bus to grab my guitar." He said heading back outside. "If the trip alone doesn't kill me, I'm sure he will." We walked to the back of the bus and accepted his guitar from the blond handing it to him. "Thanks Bart." He turned around and was about to leave when he stopped dead in his tracks. "Bart?! What do you think you're doing here?"

"Freddy said it was a band trip, I'm part of this band too."

"You literally aren't." He told him.

"I played with you guys." He complained.

"Only because Freddy told us to let you. It was one time, that doesn't make you instantly part of us."

"C'mon Mr. Tani, let me keep going." The child begged.

"Well, it's too late to turn back now." He said with a sigh. "Does your mother know you came with us?"

"I may have told her I was going camping with a friend." He admitted.

"Call her," He said holding his phone out to the boy.

* * *

"Wow, that was great. I can't to show these off." Marta said going through all the pictures she took that day with Gordon was behind her walking slowly with a yawn.

"I'm real happy for you."

"Thanks and thank you for helping me." She said planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I gotta get to bed. Me and Marco are heading out with Summer tomorrow to check out the place we'll be playing in."

"Oh ok, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, cool, see you." He said stepping into the elevator.

* * *

Freddy woke up the next morning. He looked down and saw Zack sleeping, with his head resting on Freddy's chest and he couldn't help but smile. He thoughts were interrupted when he heard his phone ringing. He slowly climbed out, trying not to wake up Zack and reached into his pants on the floor and pulled his phone out to see his brother was calling him.

"What is it Bart?" He answered.

" _Guess where I am."_ Bart said from the other side.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Say 'hi,'" Bart said holding the phone next to Chiaki's face.

"Sorry Freddy," He said into the line.

"Mr. Tani? What's my brother doing on the bus?"

" _He snuck on and we're too far out of Austin to turn back now. I had him call home so your mom knows."_

"Ok, I'll have a...chat with him when you guys arrive. Thanks for letting me know."

" _Ok, we're gonna go now Freddy bye!"_ Bart yelled into the phone.

"Bart wait-" He tried to say before his brother hung up on him. "That kid, I swear." He said with a laugh. Zack sat up really fast and began to breath heavily. "Zack, Babe, are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I just had a weird dream, that's all." Zack said, not turning to look at his boyfriend.

"Wanna talk about it?" Freddy asked.

"You know, I'm already starting to forget. I'm gonna go take a shower. I'll catch up with you later." He said kissing Freddy on the cheek before walking into their bathroom.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to call an taxi?" Clark asked.

"Nonsense, I want to see the city on the way." Summer told him.

"I saw plenty of it yesterday." Gordon muttered. "And how is it so hot out? It was freezing last night."

"Welcome to the midwest Gordon. Weather here is beyond unpredictable and temperatures shift to extremes in a matter of a small few hours. This is probably due to how close we are to the great lakes and with climate change doing God knows what-" Marco started to go off.

"Please don't lecture, we're not in school." Gordon responded.

"You asked,"

"It's just a few more blocks, you guys can live." Summer told them.

"I really wish I stayed back at the hotel with Marta."

"It'll be ok, I don't think she's having too much fun with you." Marco reassured him.

* * *

"Go for it!" Alicia shouted, holding Marta's camera carefully as Marta jumped off the high dive and Alicia snapped the picture right as she hit the water.

"How'd it come out?" Marta asked, once she came to the surface.

"Take a look for yourself." She said handing the camera over to her best friend.

"Ohh, perfect!" She exclaimed.

"I love this place." Lawrence said relaxing in the hot tub. "You sure you don't want to join me Tomika?" He called over to her with was sitting with Katie who was trying to tan.

"I'm good honey." She said back. "I'm not a fan of getting wet." She told Katie.

"I know how you feel." She responded.

"Cannon ball!" Frankie shouted as he and Leonard jumped into the pool splashing both of them.

"Well, that was nice while it lasted." Tomika commented, feeling annoyed.

"I'm back dudes! And I got us a pizza!" Freddy said entering the pool area.

"Finally, I'm starving." Frankie said leaving the pool.

"Poor boy doesn't know what he's getting into." Katie sighed.

"Go ahead, take one." Frankie took a slice out of the box and bit down into it before his eyes went wide.

"I need another."

"No way Dude, no seconds until everyone's had a slice." Freddy told him.

"Give it to me." He said reaching for the box

"Back off."

"I'll take that, thank you." Zack said taking the box out of his boyfriend's hands. "It can't be that good," He muttered before taking a bite. "Oh my God, this is amazing." He moaned.

"Saw that coming," Katie said watching everything unfold from the other side of the pool. "Having Chicago pizza is dangerous for your first time." She added with a laugh.

* * *

"Ok, this place looks way smaller on the outside." Gordon said as they entered the Harris Theater.

"I'm definitely going to have to change everything I've set up." Marco realized.

"It is such an honor to be given the chance to play here. I want to personally thank you on behalf of the band." Summer told the theater director.

"Well, we're glad to be hosting you." He told her. "I just hope you're as good as everyone says."

"I can personal guarantee that my band even better. Tell him Clark." She said pushing him forward.

"Um, right. I've only been working with them for a few months, but our classmates are very talented and very professional."

* * *

"Give me that last slice." Frankie said holding a table umbrella like a spear.

"You're gonna have to pry it from my cold dead hands, Frankie boy." Tomika told him.

"Hey now, let's calm down everyone." Zack said while twitching and scratching his arm. "Just let me take it and we'll all be happy."

"Baby, I love you and all, but that slice is mine." Freddy said assertively.

"I will kick all of you the face if you come anywhere near it." Lawrence threatened the group. Katie pushed passed him, grabbed the slice and began to eat it much to everyone's horror.

"Pussies," She said walking back to her chair in the sun.

"What just happened?" Zack asked.

"I think we almost let pizza come between us." Lawrence said.

"Sounds like a normal Thursday at my place." Freddy said sitting down.

"Does that normally happen?" Alicia asked Katie as she sat back down.

"When it's someone's first time with Chicago pizza, that's the only possible outcome." She explained.

"Gordon's gonna be sorry he missed this." Marta said. "He loves pizza." She added.


	25. Chicago Rock Fest 2: Settling in

"How well do you think sound bounces off these walls?" Marco asked.

"Well enough. I think we're going to need more lights just to light up the whole stage." Gordon commented.

"How do you do that?" Marco asked.

"Do what?"

"Just make decisions on the fly like that? I always have to do research and double, triple check it. Then you come along and just pick and decide things without even so much as a second thought." Marco told him.

"No one thinks of me as a genius, so I don't need to worry if I get something wrong." Gordon said, still looking up at the catwalks.

"Guess that would make sense. If I make a mistake, everyone treats it like the end of the world." Marco said with a small laugh.

"Do they, or do you?" Gordon asked. Marco was about to speak when Clark approached them.

"Summer said we're going to be leaving soon." He told them before walking away.

"He is so awkward around us." Gordon commented.

* * *

"It's getting pretty late, I hope Gordon gets back soon." Marta said as she and Alicia climbed into the elevator.

"I'm sure he's fine. It's not even dark out." Alicia reminded her.

"True enough, but I'm not sure how long he can socially interact for. And he got up pretty early this morning and you know how he is with mornings."

"You're really worried about him aren't you?" Alicia asked.

"Of course I am, what kind of question is that?" Marta asked.

"Just making an observation, don't read into it too much into it girl." She said turning away.

* * *

Zack and Freddy were making out while sitting on the edge of their bed. The two of them broke apart to catch their breath. "I'm so glad we're here together." Freddy said with a smile.

"Me too," Zack began to rub Freddy's chest before tugging his shirt up. Freddy tossed his hat off allowing Zack to pull his shirt off. Freddy reached over and returned the favor by pulling Zack's off before pulling back. Zack took a deep breath in before looking back at Freddy and nodding.

"Oh hell yeah," Freddy said, laying Zack down as they continued to make out. Zack felt himself growing uncomfortable. _It's Freddy._ He thought. _You love him. He won't hurt you. You're safe. You're safe._ A quick image a Justin hovering above him flashed in his mind and he jolted up off the bed.

"Stop! Stop it! I can't, I can't," He said with his voice shaking while holding himself.

"What's wrong? Are you ok? What'd I do?" Freddy asked panicked and walking over towards his boyfriend.

"It-it's him. I can't get him out of my head." Zack said, breathing heavily. "I'm really trying, but anytime we start to get intimate, all I can see is Justin over me." He explained as he began to cry. Freddy pulled him close and held him tightly.

"Zack, it'll be ok. I'm right here. You're ok. You don't have to see him ever again." He said rubbing Zack's back. Freddy and Zack looked deep into each other's eyes deeply for moment before Freddy spoke again. "We're gonna make it through this, I promise." He said placing a kiss on Zack's forehead. "We can stay in tonight if you need to."

"No, no. I promised we'd go to dinner with everyone else."

"I don't think we should Babe, you're clearly shaken up right now."

"Freddy, I'll be fine when we're with our friends. I promise." Zack said kissing Freddy back.

"Ok, but I'm sticking close to you."

"Don't you anyways?" Zack asked as they shared a laugh.

* * *

"And furthermore, if we just flew in with the rest of your band, we would've been there by now." Chiaki's father continued on the rant he'd been going for the past hour.

"I swear one more peep out of him and I'm flooring it into this eighteen-wheeler." Chiaki muttered.

"Can we stop somewhere to get something to eat?" Bart asked.

"We just had dinner." He told the child.

"But that was like an hour ago, man!"

"Ok Bart, I want you to look out the window and tell me where you want to eat." Bart looked out to see they were out in the middle of nowhere. "You decide yet?"

"I'll be quiet." He said sitting down.

* * *

The band sat together at a large table in the restaurant deep in their own conversations.

"I'm going to have to re-work everything from the ground up." Marco finished explaining to Alicia.

"And I'm going to need to help him so I'm not sure if we'll be able to spend that much time together after all." Gordon told Marta.

"Look at that," Leonard tapped Frankie shoulder and pointed towards Summer and Clark. "He's so obvious it's hurting me to watch."

"Then talk to someone else, you know like a sane person." Frankie suggested.

"It's so weird that middle school Freddy happened and yet we still have present day Freddy." Michelle said to Zack.

"It just goes to show that people can change. He still looks at me like he did when we first got together." Zack said while smiling.

"Like I said before, I'm glad your finally out of the closet Zack. I can't say I was surprised when you told me you were gay though." She said with a laugh.

"Hey, that was hard for me. You were the first person I told."

"I feel so honored."

"All I'm saying is, if humans were meant to be in water, we'd have gills." Tomika finished her rant.

"Tomika, I'm just asking you to sit in a hot tub. It's not nearly deep enough for you to drown." Lawrence explained.

"I stand by what I said." She said crossing her arms.

"I can't believe Chiaki isn't here yet. He should've arrived by now." Summer said.

"He could've took a wrong turn, leading him to who knows where." Katie told him. "He does have his father driving him up the wall."

"My brother's also there you know, he's probably not having a good time." Freddy commented.

"I thought Bart liked road trips." Zack said turning to him.

"I meant Chiaki. I feel bad for anyone trapped in a car with that kid for so long." Freddy told him.

"I got the check." Clark coming back to the table.

"Let me just see that-what the Hell?" Summer said seeing the price. "Who ordered fifteen milkshakes?" She asked.

"No one," Zack said finishing another one.

"Ok, we're all going to have to chip in." Summer said to everyone.

"I'm broke," Gordon told her.

"Everyone, but Gordon." All the band members started pulling out when Billy stopped them.

"I got everybody, calm down." He said as he pulled out a platinum card.

"How did you convince your dad to let you have that?" Eleni asked him.

"He doesn't know," He said simply.

"I love it when you break rules like that." She said, holding onto his arm.

* * *

The band arrive back at the Hotel and split off into their usual groups. Summer, remained outside with Clark to call Chiaki to see where he was.

"Kentucky I think. There's alot KFC's in the town we're in."

"We only have four days until the show." She reminded him.

"I know. don't worry, we'll make it there in time, I promise."

"I hope so, because the band doesn't need this and neither do I."

"I'm sorry, but I swear to whatever deity you believe in, we'll be there and with enough time to practice before the show."

"You better." She said before hanging up.

"Are you ok Summer?" Clark asked her.

"I don't think I am Clark."

"Anything I can do?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Um, no, no. I just need some time alone." She told him trying not to look at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Ok," He said as he turned to walk inside when he stopped and looked at the rose bush. He picked one and turned back to Summer. "I hope everything turns out ok." He said with a shy smile before he actually went inside. Summer looked and the rose and sighed to herself until she stood up and groaned.

"What is the matter with me?" She asked as music began to play in her head. Unbeknownst to her, the band's back up singers were all watching from around the corner.

 _S: If there's a prize for rotten judgment._

 _I guess I've already won that_

 _No man is worth the aggravation_

 _That's ancient history, been there, done that._ She sang tossing the rose only for it to be caught but Tomika.

 _T.A.M.: Who d'you think you're kidding_

 _He's the earth and heaven to you_

 _Try to keep it hidden,_

 _Honey we see right through_

 _Girl you can't conceal it_

 _We know how you're feeling_

 _Who you thinking of_

 _S: No chance, no way, I won't say it, no no_

 _T.A.M.: You swoon, you sigh, why deny it oh oh_

 _S: It's too cliche, I won't say I'm in love_

 _I thought my heart had learned its lesson_

 _It feels so good when you start out_

 _My head is screaming "Get a grip girl"_

 _Unless you're dying to cry your heart out_

 _T.A.M.: Girl you can't deny it_

 _Who you are is how you're feeling_

 _Baby we're not buying_

 _Hon we saw you hit the ceiling_

 _Face it like a grown-up_

 _When you gonna own up that you got, got, got it bad_

 _S: No chance, no way, I won't say it, no, no_

 _T.A.M.: Give up, give in_

 _T: Check the grin you're in love_

 _S: This scene won't play, I won't say I'm in love_

 _T.A.M.: We'll do it until you admit you're in love_

 _S: You're way off base, I won't say it_

 _Get off my case, I won't say it_

 _T.A.M.: Girl don't be proud, it's ok, you're in love._ They sang, placing the rose back in her hand.

 _S: At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love_

The other three looked on as Summer held the rose close with a smile as she went inside.

"That was fun girls, but I'm gonna head inside. I don't want to miss too much of the game Katie started." Tomika stated

* * *

"Gordon, truth or dare." Freddy said with a smirk.

"The smile scares me, so truth." He said nervously.

"What is one thing you wanna try with Marta?" He asked.

"Uh, well, um that's a loaded question. I don't know, can I pick dare instead?" He asked panicked and blushing.

"Ok, that's fine. I dare you kiss her in front of us when she walks back in."

"Come on, give me something easier." He whined.

"You made me lick Zack's foot."

"You made me where one of my bras over my shirt for a round." Katie told him.

"You made me kiss Lawrence." Frankie said irritated.

"No one should be made to kiss Lawrence." Lawrence himself admitted.

"Fine. I'll do it." Right as he agreed, the door to the room they were in (Katie and Tomika's) opened up with Tomika walking back in from outside with Marta in the doorway.

"Well?" Freddy asked. Gordon got up and walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Uh, Gordon," She said nervously with a blush before he leaned in and kissed her quickly pecked her on the lips.

"Oh come on, that doesn't count." Freddy told him.

"What? But I did exactly what you told me." He argued.

"That's how you kiss your mom dude."

"Dared you to kiss me?" Marta asked.

"Yep,"

"Do it," She said turning towards Gordon and puckering her lips. He put his hands back on her shoulders and kissed her again, more deeply this time.

"Better?" Gordon asked, visibly shaken by kissing Marta in front of his whole group.

"Good enough." Freddy said. "You're turn now."

"Ok, Zack." Gordon said. Zack was spacing out and looking down at the floor.

"Babe, Gordon's picking you." Freddy said shaking Zack lightly.

"What? Oh right. What's up?" Zack asked.

"Truth or dare bro?"

"Um truth I guess," Zack picked, tuning back in.

"So, who tops more between you and Freddy?"

"Gordon, that's out of line dude." Freddy told him sternly.

"You asked me what I wanted to 'try' with Marta when we're not even there yet." Gordon shot back.

"It was hypothetical, this is a really tough subject for us right now and-"

"Me." Zack interrupted. "I'm on top more happy?" Everyone could tell something was off. Zack was cold, almost emotionless.

"Zack, are you ok?" Freddy asked.

"Just playing the game," Zack said looking back down.

"Just a minute guys, keep playing." He said, pulling Zack away from the group. "You're doing it again." He whispered as the others went on.

"Doing what?" Zack whispered back.

"You're going completely numb right now and you disassociating at the same time."

"I'm sorry," Zack said showing a bit of emotion coming back.

"Stop apologizing, it's not your fault."

"Right, sorry."

"What'd I just say?" Freddy said with a smirk and a laugh. Zack laughed a little himself.

"I just need to get some sleep. I think I'm just gonna go to bed now."

"Want me to come with you?" Freddy offered.

"No, no, it's fine. Just stay and have fun ok?" Zack said kissing Freddy on the cheek. "Hey guys, I'm heading off to bed. Goodnight." Zack said to everyone else.

"Night bro," Lawrence said waving.

"Pleasant dreams dude," Katie said. Zack left the room and Freddy came back and sat back down in his place.

"My turn," Tomika said. "Freddy, truth or dare?"

"Truth, we're all picking truth tonight I guess." He said with a laugh.

"What's wrong with Zack?"

"Tomika, that's private."

"Freddy man, we all know something's wrong." Frankie said, jumping in.

"He's been like this for almost two months now." Katie commented.

"Guys, if Zack wanted you to know, he'd tell you." Freddy said.

"Freddy, I get you love him, but he's our friend too." Lawrence reminded him.

"Ok fine, he's gonna be pissed of me, but you do deserve to know. Back when me and Zack were, um, apart he went out with an old friend of his."

"Justin, yeah we know." Gordon told him.

"Right, well on that date, Justin took Zack up into the hills and he..." Freddy hung his head and began to shake and breath heavily. "He tried to rape our Zack guys." He almost broke saying those words. "He called me when he got home and told me not to tell anyone. He didn't want to feel like a victim." Everyone let silence fall over them before Freddy spoke up again. "It's not fair we're just kids. Zack shouldn't have fucking PTSD at fifteen." He said angrily as tears started to form.

"Go after him." Katie told him. "Trust me, he needs you even more right now." Freddy got up, left the room, and ran to his and Zack's room. Zack was laying down, turned away from the door. Freddy kicked his shoes off and threw off his hat before climbing in bed and wrapping his arms around Zack.

"F-Freddy?" Zack said confused. His voice was shaky as if he had been crying.

"It's ok, I'm here. I'll always will be here for you. I told you before, you don't have to do this alone and I meant that. Don't even think you're problems are a burden to me." There was a moment of silence.

"Freddy, I love you so much." Zack said as he started crying.

"I love you too Zack." Freddy told him, hugging him tighter. "To the moon and back again."


	26. Chicago Rock Fest 3: Switching Sides

Zack woke up with Freddy still holding onto him. He moved slowly and slipped out of his boyfriend's arm and threw a shirt on before leaving the room and running right into a woman in the hall. "Sorry, still waking up." He said.

"No problem, Zack. I'm used to it." Zack grew confused hearing his name and shook his head more awake and saw Luna, the Hex Girls keyboardist in front of him.

"Luna? Why are you here? Are Thorn and Dusk here too?" He asked.

"Yeah, your cousin went out to get breakfast and Dusk's passed out right from staying up watching Netflix all night. And I'm guessing you're here for the same reason we are."

"Rock Fest invited you too?"

"You know it sweetie. I'll catch you later alright?" She said continuing down the hall.

* * *

Summer was sitting outside as she watched their bus drive into the parking. She smiled as Chiaki, his father, and Bart left the bus and made their way over. "I don't want to hear it right now, can I just have the key to my room?" Chiaki asked Summer. She rolled her eyes and handed the key over.

"You're rooming with your dad." She told him.

"Well, I wouldn't want any of you to have to deal with him." He said taking his stuff inside with his father behind him.

"What about me?" Bart asked.

"I don't even know why you're here, but you'll have to share a room with Billy. I wouldn't go in there right now though. Go bug your brother." She said turning and heading back inside.

* * *

Freddy was lying asleep in his bed when he felt the other side of the bed being pushed down. "That you Baby? Why don't you come back into my arms and we spend all day in bed together?"

"Ew, is that you talk to people you date?' Freddy recognized his brother's voice immediately and jumped out of bed as fast as possible.

"What are you doing here?"

"I stowed away remember? Why are you in your underwear?"

"That's just how I sleep ok?" He asked grabbing a pair of basketball shorts.

"Suuurrre," Bart said sarcastically. Freddy was about to respond when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it and there was a woman standing outside in a business suit.

"Fredrick Jones?" She asked.

"Haven't been called that in a while, but that's me." He responded.

"My boss in Room 1805 would like to speak with you. If you could finish getting dressed and follow me please." Freddy looked at her confused but went to get a shirt before following her anyways.

"Bart, stay here and don't cause too much trouble ok?"

* * *

"We finally got the hot tub to ourselves." Tomika said to Lawrence, leaning back into his embrace.

"I thought you didn't like to be wet." He said into her ear.

"I don't think I mind when you're the one getting me wet." She said rubbing her hand down his chest. Lawrence swallowed hard.

"I need to be somewhere cold," He said climbing out and jumping into the pool. Tomika smiled and sat back to relax.

* * *

Zack walked back into to his and Freddy's room and double back for a minute when he saw Bart there. "Ok, Freddy you either de-aged while I was out or-"

"What up Z-Man?" Bart asked, cutting him off.

"That's what I was afraid of. Bart, where's Freddy?"

"Dunno, some lady showed up earlier and asked him to go with her." He told him.

"Some lady? What did she look like?" Zack asked, sitting down.

"Blond hair, glasses, really big-"

"Bart,"

"What? You wanted to know what she looked like didn't you?" Zack inhaled and gave Bart a "continue" gesture. "She also kind of had resting bi-"

"Ok, this is getting us nowhere."

* * *

Freddy stepped into the room the lady took him to and saw a man sitting at a table inside. "Freddy Jones right?" He asked.

"Just Freddy's fine," He said tired of hearing his full name.

"Please take a seat." He said, pulling out a chair.

"What's this about?" He asked sitting down.

"My name is Kendall Schmidt, I'm the manager of the band Night Lizard, another band invited to the festival. I've seen your band perform before and you, my young friend, are very talented."

"Um, thanks," _Where's he going with this?_ Freddy thought.

"Perhaps I should get to why I wished to see you here today. Our drummer was in an accident on her way into town and will be unable to play by the time the festival arrives."

"And you want me to take her place, I get it. I'm sorry, but I'm already part of a band." Freddy said getting up.

"If you play with us, you're bound to get far more exposure should you play as a part of our band."

"Look, me and my boyfriend got back together and I really wanna be up on stage with him again-"

"We're willing to pay you five-grand." Kendall told him. Freddy stopped dead in his tracks and sat back down.

"Do I get one of those jackets?" Freddy asked, referring to the jacket Kendall was wearing with the band's name. Kendall smiled and nodded.

* * *

"Clark, have Gordon and Marco finished getting ready with the light and set up?" Summer asked.

"Indeed they are," He told her.

"Excellent. Chiaki needs to rest, but tomorrow we need to start practicing immediately."

"Of course Summer." He said as he stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"You can leave now, if you want." She said softly.

"I'd rather stay to be honest." He said in response.

"Oh, well that's fine too." Both of them sat on the end of her bed in silence hoping the other one would say something. Luckily for Clack, Summer spoke up. "Look Clark, about last night-"

"Yeah?" He asked excitedly.

"That was really sweet what you did."

"Well, I saw that you were having a hard time and I wanted to make it better."

"I never really thanked you did I?" She asked scooting closer to him. Clark began to blush. Summer kept her face down so Clark would see her face being a matching shade or red.

"Th-that won't be necessary." He said, his voice cracking.

"N-no really, I insist." She said, wrapping her pinkie finger around his. Both of them began to breathe heavily, but before they either of them could make a move, the door swung open with Leonard on the other side.

"Hey Sum, me and Frankie were wondering if-" He stopped dead in his tracks seeing the two sitting very close to each other. "Oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" He asked amused.

"Nope!" Summer said fast, pushing Clark over. "What did you need?"

"Nothing anymore, seeing that was worth all the performances in the world!" He said as he walked away laughing.

* * *

"Freddy, there you are." Zack said walking up and hugging him. "Where were you and why is Bart here? And what is that jacket?"

"You're gonna wanna sit down Babe." He said.

"Freddy, I can take it, just tell me." He reassured him.

"I agreed to play in a different band for the Rock Festival." He said bluntly.

"...oh," Zack said softly.

"You hate me don't you? I knew it, I'll go tell them it's not happening." He said turning around.

"No, no, Freddy it's ok." He said taking ahold of his boyfriend's hand. "Bart came for a reason didn't he?"

"Are you sure? I really will go tell them it's not happening." He offered again.

"If you want to play for another band, I won't stop you."

"Oh good, because I kind of signed a contract saying I have to." He admitted.

"There it is. I'm gonna go introduce Thorn to the rest of our band." Zack said making his way for the door.

"The Hex Girls are here?" Freddy asked.

"Apparently," He said before closing the door on his way out.

"So am I the band's drummer now?" Bart asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Freddy asked.

"You had me play at the last dance and now that we're at probably one of the biggest shows the band's gonna have and you're blowing them off again." Bart explained.

"Bart, Night Lizard's director is offering me five thousand dollars to play for them. Do you know what that could mean?"

"All the fried chicken." Bart said with his mouth watering.

"Sure, all the fried chicken." Freddy said in a deadpan tone.

* * *

"You're sure, you're related?" Katie asked Zack and Thorn were sitting next to each other in the same pose, both wearing black swimsuits. The two turned their heads and looked at each other.

"Pretty sure." They said in unison.

"Seems like it to me." Lawrence said.

"Our mom's are sisters." Zack told them.

"We both have one sixteenth wiccan blood because of it." Thorn added.

"I'm dating a witch?" Freddy asked, walking out to the pool area. "Cool,"

"What's with the jacket?" Frankie asked.

"You wanna tell them or should I?" Bart asked from behind him.

"Listen guys-" Freddy started to say with a sigh.

"I'm playing in his place again." Bart said before his brother could finish.

"What?!" Summer cried standing up from her chair next to Clark. "Freddy, a word please?" She said walking up to him.

"Zack?" Katie asked, turning to him.

"It's fine. I'm not gonna be a controlling boyfriend."

"But,"

"I'm ok, trust me." He said flashing a smile.

"Good to see Ashton taught you how fake a smile." Thorn said quietly enough for only him to hear. "Do even believe yourself?"

"We've had too many fights, I don't want to cause another one." He explained.

* * *

"You're really doing this?" Summer asked.

"Sum, come on, these guys are gonna pay be five thousand bucks."

"It always comes back to money with you doesn't it?"

"Says the richest girl in school."

"That's not the point and you know it."

"Look, Bart's here. Do you think I'd even consider it if you guys didn't have a stand in for me?"

"You're practically a stand in for him at this point. Besides, Bart may be good, but he's not you Freddy. **You're** supposed to be our drummer."

"Look, this is the last time I'll stick him in with you guys ok? I promise."

"I hope so," Summer said looking out at Zack sharing a laugh with his cousin. "For his sake." She added, walking back out.


	27. Chicago Rock Fest 4: Best Show Ever

"Everything good to go?" Chiaki asked as the band was setting up stage for their rehearsal.

"Sounds up," Marco told him.

"Lights are ready," Gordon added.

"Ok, let's take it from the top guys. Whenever you're ready Tomika."

"Let's do this!" She shouted as the band began to play.

" _Get up, get out_

 _Move 'em, move 'em, there's no doubt_

 _I'm all wrong, you're right_

 _It's all the same with you"_

Summer was watching the band play with Clark at her side, when she thought she felt someone else enter the theater room and turned around and saw that Freddy had walked in and was watching them with a smile. "Guys cut!" She yelled to the band who stopped.

"Why'd you stop it? They were doing great." Freddy said to her.

"You can't be in here Freddy. Where are Frankie and Leonard?" She asked.

"They opened the door for me." He told her.

"Excuse me," She said walking past him.

"Why can't I be here exactly?" He asked Clark.

"Well, since you decided to play for Night Lizard, you're not considered part of the band for the contest and you're not allowed to watch us play so-"

"I get it. I was just here to ask Zack if we're still going out."

"Shoot, I forgot." Zack said from the stage. "Right after rehearsal ok Babe?"

"Alright, but you owe me." He said walking out.

"You sure that's ok?" Katie asked him.

"For the last time, yes." Zack told her. "Let's just finish this."

* * *

After rehearsal, the band went back to the hotel where Zack and Freddy were changing in their room. "So how's Bart doing on my part?" Freddy asked his boyfriend as he emerged from their shower with a towel on

"He's doing great, but can we not talk about the band?" Zack asked him.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just wanted to know how Bart's doing y'know?"

"Yeah, yeah. That's cool." Zack said as they finished getting dressed. "So, what are planning to spend the money Night Lizard's paying you?" Zack asked as they entered the elevator.

"I don't know. Probably a new skateboard. Kind of promised Bart alot of fried chicken." He said with a laugh. "As for the rest, I'll probably use to to help out my mom."

Zack nearly forgot about that. Ever since his dad passed away his family's been having problems with money. Having to move into an apartment and his mom working three jobs just so he can keep going to school with all of them.

"Zack? You home?" He asked, shaking him lightly. "Did you disassociate again?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Zack told him.

"We can lay down if you're not feeling well."

"Freddy, really I'm fine." He tried to tell him.

"Hey, it's ok. It's not your fault, let's just go back to our room and stay in tonight."

"Freddy, I'm not a baby ok?!" Zack shouted, feeling frustrated.

"Ok, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Freddy said, backing off. "You just drift off sometimes and I don't know if you're just think or if it's because-"

"I'm over it ok?" Zack told him.

"Zack," Freddy began.

"Ok, maybe I'm not completely over it, but I don't need you catering to me about it. I already said, I don't want to feel like a victim." The two of them stood awkwardly in the elevator in silence.

"What happened Zack? I thought we were done with fighting." Freddy said, leaning against the wall.

"I don't know. Whenever I see you, I feel happy, but also angry at the same time. But you haven't really done anything." Zack admitted.

"And I just feel like I need to apologize for everything, even when you don't seem mad at me." Freddy told him.

"Freddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want you playing with Night Lizard." Zack told him. "I miss you being in our band and I really would like you to play with us again."

"Ok," Freddy said simply.

"A-are you sure?" Zack asked surprised.

"Yeah, of course. I already told you I won't do it if you don't want me to." Freddy reminded him.

"Um, Freddy I don't want you in Night Lizard." Zack repeated.

"Sure, now let's go out, what do you say?" Freddy asked, holding one of Zack's hands.

"Yeah, let's go." Zack said with a sigh of relief.

* * *

"Hey Summer," Clark said walking into her room. "I overheard Zack and Freddy on their way out."

"Does this story have a point?"

"Freddy's dropping out of Night Lizard, he's back with us." Clark told her.

"Yes!" She said jumping to her feet before Clark on the cheek. Both of them blushed and turned away from each other. "Sorry, I got too excited." She apologized.

"It's fine, I really don't mind at all." Clark told her.

"Just fuck already!" Leonard yelled from the open doorway.

* * *

"You can find a milkshake no matter where we go, can't you?" Freddy asked amused.

"Well, they bring the boys to the yard. I'm a boy." Zack said with a shrug.

"I can't tell if that was a joke or not." Freddy told him. Zack look at him with a blank stare while drinking more. Zack's phone started to go off and he saw that is was Michelle. "Go ahead," Freddy told him.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, answering it.

" _Zack, I know you're out with Freddy, but Summer wants him back here."_

"Ok, we'll stop by her room when we get back."

" _I think she means now."_

"Got it, we're on our way." Zack said, hanging up.

"So, what's up? We're going back already?" Freddy asked.

"Summer wants to talk to us. Like now." Zack told him.

"Well, looks like one of us is going to die tonight and it's not the one not wearing the cowboy hat." Freddy sighed.

* * *

The two walked back to the hotel, pretty afraid of what Summer had in store for them. They walked into the elevator and rode it up to their floor. "Summer, we're here." Zack said outside her door. Summer opened up and let both of them in.

"Freddy Jones, I don't know whether to punch your lights or hug you." She said.

"I vote for hugging," He said nervously.

"I second that," Zack added.

"Either way, I'm glad that you re-joined us, but there's a problem."

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"The contract you signed with Night Lizard's manager. You're stuck with them for the festival." She told them.

"Oh don't worry, I think I know someone who can take care of it." Freddy said with a smile.

"Do I want to know how these people are going to handle the situation?" She asked.

"Probably not, but they'll handle it, I promise." Freddy told her.

"Alright, you can go now." She said dismissing them from the room.

* * *

"Do you wanna try tonight?" Freddy asked Zack as they lay awake in bed.

"Not really. I think with us trying so much, it makes it harder for me." Zack said.

"Ok, I'll stop trying until you're ready." Freddy said kissing Zack's forehead.

"I can't wait for tomorrow." Zack said, snuggling into Freddy.

* * *

" _Earth, wind, fire, and air_

 _We may look bad_

 _But we don't care_

 _We ride the wind_

 _We feel the fire_

 _To love the earth is our one desire_

 _To love the earth is our one desire!"_

The Hex Girls finished up playing as the crowd cheered. School of Rock was up next, but before they went up on stage, Night Lizard's manager approached.

"Hold it there children. You've got one of my players with you."

"Oh I forgot to tell you, I'm out." Freddy told him.

"You can't, because I have-" He reached into his jacket and felt around looking for the contract.

"Looking for this?" Bart asked holding it out.

"How did you-"

"It's best not to ask. I don't even want to know." Freddy said, petting his brother's head. "Frankie, if you would be so kind." Frankie crumpled it up before putting it in his mouth and eating it.

"Are you ok?" Katie asked her boyfriend.

"No," He said confidently.

"Well, we're up. Later," Freddy said with a smile as the band walked out on stage.

"I won't forget this," Kendall muttered before walking away.

School of Rock came out on stage to thunderous applause. Chiaki looked out and saw his father out in the crowd. _Time to show him this is worth it._ "How are you doing Chicago!?" Chiaki said into the mic as the crowd cheered back. "Y'all ready for this? Tomika, take the mic girl."

" _Yeah!_

 _Yeah!_

 _Get up, get out_

 _Move 'em, move 'em, there's no doubt_

 _I'm all wrong, you're right_

 _It's all the same with you_

 _I'm too thin, too fat_

 _You ask why_

 _So why, so why?_

 _So why, so why?_

 _On and on_

 _And on and on_

 _On and on_

 _And on and on_

 _Don't wanna grow up_

 _I wanna get out_

 _Hey, take me away_

 _I want to shout out_

 _Take me away, away_

 _Away, away, away_

 _Round and round, here we go again_

 _Same old start, same old end_

 _Turn my head and turn back again_

 _Same old stuff, never ends_

 _Do this, do that_

 _Can't deal, can't deal with that_

 _I tune in, tune out_

 _I've heard it all before_

 _Hello, goodbye_

 _Never asking me why_

 _Goodbye, goodbye_

 _Goodbye_

 _On and on_

 _And on and on_

 _On and on_

 _And on and on_

 _Don't wanna grow up_

 _I wanna get out_

 _Hey, take me away_

 _I want to shout out_

 _Take me away, away_

 _Away, away, away_

 _(Zack guitar solo)_

 _Don't wanna grow up_

 _I wanna get out_

 _Hey, take me away_

 _I want to shout out_

 _Take me away, away_

 _Away, away, away_

 _Don't wanna grow up_

 _I wanna get out_

 _Hey, take me away_

 _I want to shout out_

 _Take me away, away_

 _Away, away, away_

 _Round and round, here we go again_

 _Same old story, the same old end_

 _Turn my head and turn back again_

 _Same old stuff, never ends!"_

The band finished playing to silence at first, before there was an eruption of applause and cheering. The band looked over the crowd, feeling joy with hoe the just performed. Chiaki looked up at his father, who was clapping with a proud smile, yet still calm and composed.

"I'm definitely going to miss that sound." Billy said next to Gordon.

"Yeah, wait what?" He asked confused.

"My mom found out about my dad's...temper, so I'm moving out to California with her." Gordon looked down, realizing he never was able to help him. "But hey, I'll keep in touch and I'll still be making the band's outfits."

"I know we didn't really talk much until last year, but I'm still really gonna miss you." Gordon told him.

"I'd miss me too." Gordon said smugly. "But I'll also miss you." He added before they hugged.

* * *

Later that night, the band had returned to the hotel and was getting ready to leave the next morning. "Thanks so much for letting us stay here Uncle Richie." Katie said as they entered the building.

"Anything for my favorite niece. Tell you father that he still owes me thirty dollars."

"Will do," She said with a chuckle. "I need to go help my boyfriend now. He ate paper earlier so that'll be fun to deal with." She told him heading towards the elevator.

"Summer, a word please?" Leonard asked, beckoning her over to him.

"What do you want Leonard?" She asked, walking up to him.

"Just tell Clark how you feel." He told her.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Stop it. Everyone knows and if you wait too long, I don't know if it'll work out. It's painfully obvious he likes you too. So be honest with him already and stop messing with the poor boy."

"You're right, thanks Leonard." She said before running off to Clark's room.

* * *

"Clark, it's Summer. Let me in." She said, knocking on the door.

"What can I do for you?" He asked opening the door.

"Is Lawrence here?"

"No, he's out in the hot tub with Tomika." He told her. Show walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Clark, I need to tell you something. I haven't completely honest with you." She said. Clark swallowed hard. "ClarkIreallylikeyouwaymorethanjustagoodassitantandIthinkyou'rereallyreallycuteandniceandI'dbelyingmoreifIsaidIdidn'twanttodateyoualittlebit." She said in one breath.

"I like you too? I think that's what you said." Clark told her. Summer looked up as the two looked into each other's eyes. Summer and Clark reached out and held each other's hand before leaning in and finally sharing a kiss.

* * *

Zack and Freddy were making out intensely in their room. Zack unbuttoned Freddy's shirt and tossed it off to the side before he broke off the kiss and and breathed heavily on his boyfriend's chest.

"End of the road?" Freddy asked, knowing Zack must be near his intimacy limit.

Zack shook his head and removed his shirt and undid his pants before stepping out of them. "Take me," Zack said, looking into Freddy's eyes. Freddy grinned and through Zack down onto their bed.


	28. Back to Class

"Are you ready to start your last year of grade school?" Ms. Huerta asked her youngest son as they ate breakfast.

"Yeah, I guess so." He told her.

"Is Freddy still asleep?" She asked.

"What do you expect he was at Zack's until four last night."

"Go wake him up in that special way you have." She told him. Bart grinned and walked upstairs to Freddy's room.

Freddy was lying in bed snoring loudly. Bart pulled out a megaphone, turned the volume all the way up. Freddy jolted awake and fell off his bed. "Someday, I'm gonna find out where you keep those." Freddy said from the floor. "Time for school?"

"Yep,"

"Give me a minute." Bart left the room and returned to his seat at the table.

Almost right after, Freddy ran out, already dressed and grabbed himself a piece of toast and a strip of bacon. "Taking my breakfast to go, bye Mom!" He said running out the door. Freddy put his headphones in before jumping on his skateboard and heading out on his way to school.

* * *

"Alright Zack remember, this year won't be as easy as last year." His dad reminded him as he tried to leave.

"Dad, I know," He groaned.

"And you're going to have to try harder than before." He went on.

"I know," He repeated. "Now, can I go? I'm gonna be late."

"Go on," He father told him. Zack sighed before leaving his house.

* * *

"Tomika, your mother needs you to pick up a few things on your way home." Tomika's father said handing her a long list of food items. Tomika's mother became pregnant once again and was starting to get strange cravings.

"Can you ask her for a list of what she doesn't need?" She asked him.

"You want to take it up with her?" He asked.

"I'll make sure to pick it all up." She said as her phone buzzed. "That'll be Lawrence, bye Dad." She said hugging her father as she left.

* * *

"Don't worry, I promise I'll tell you about any drama that happens." Gordon said to Billy over the phone. "You're not gonna miss a thing. I gotta go, Marta's here."

"Hey," She said running up to him. "Have you been waiting long?" She asked.

"Depends, do you consider twenty minutes long?" She asked, pretending to sound annoyed. She looked at him questioningly. "Ok, it's only been fifteen minutes." He said. She leaned in closer. "Ten," Closer. "Five," He finally said quietly.

"Ok, let's go. Alicia said she has something to show us both." She said grabbing his hand and walking down the street towards the school.

"Oh goodie,"

* * *

"Miss me?" Frankie asked, leaning against Katie's locker.

"What language should I say yes in?" She asked, draping her arms over his neck.

"How many languages do you speak?" He asked as the shared a short kiss.

"Four, learning a fifth one this year." She said seductively.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to tone it down a little." Their old dean Ms. Bliss said, walking around the corner.

"Ms. Bliss? I thought you said you weren't going to be dean anymore?" Katie asked. "And that's true. I am now all seeing, all powerful, Principal Bliss." She told the two teens. "Now please, we have stricter PDA rules in the hallways." The two took a step back and held hands.

"This fine?" Frankie asked.

"Much better, as you were." She said continuing down the halls.

"Bliss is principal now? Damn, I liked this school, gotta move now." Freddy said appearing behind them.

"Eeeeyyyyyy!" Frankie cried, lifting Freddy up. "How's my best bud?"

"Can't really breathe right now, but I'm good." Frankie dropped him back to the floor.

"Where's Zack, don't you two usually come to school together?" Katies asked.

"I don't know, I thought I'd run into him myself." Freddy admitted

"Maybe his brother had going away party he wasn't aloud to leave so he had to come early to find his classes." Zack said turning the corner. "But that's just my guess." He added.

"My Baby!" Freddy said attack hugging him. "It's been too long without you."

"Freddy, it's only been three hours since you left my house."

"Too long," He repeated.

"He's not getting too clingy is he?" Katie asked.

"It's fine Kate," Zack said as Freddy wrapped his arm around him. "Stop getting taller." Zack told him, now that Freddy was roughly an inch taller.

"Everything else about you is bigger, I need something." Freddy told him.

"And on that note, we're out of here." Frankie said as him and Katie left the two alone.

"Let's get to class now Babe." Freddy said to the brunette.

"We both have Chiaki for homeroom don't we?" Zack asked.

"Yep, I think this is going to be the best year ever." Freddy said as they heard the first bell ring.

"Move it!" Summer said running past them with Clark in toe.

"Well, good to see she hasn't changed." Freddy said, causing Zack to giggle. They walked down the hall and got to their class with Chiaki right before the last bell rang.

"So kind of you to join us boys," He said with a slight smile. "Take your seats please." The two walked over to their seats next to each other, hand in hand.

"Alright everyone, welcome back." Chiaki told his class.

* * *

"Lawrence!" Zack exclaimed in surprise seeing his best friend in his next class.

"Hey bro, how was the rest of your vacation?" He asked.

"Boring, my dad made sure I was way over prepared for this year." He told him.

"He's still not over you getting one C- last year?"

"Of course he isn't. He's going to hold that over me until I'm out of college I swear." He said with a laugh.

"Well, let's hope you have class with Marco this year."

* * *

"Hey Alicia, whoa!" Freddy stopped for a moment. "Nice look," He said.

"Thanks," She replied. Some of her dreads have been dyed hot pink in an attempt to stand out more. "It took awhile to get it exactly how I wanted it, but it all worked out in the end don'tcha think?"

"If I was single or straight, I'd be hitting you on right now."

"That means so much coming from you."

"Watch out for Ms. Bliss, she may have outlawed that." He warned her.

"Like your hair's natural." She mocked.

"We've known each other since we were seven, you know I'm blond."

"Are you really **that** blond anymore?" She asked.

"...No, but she doesn't know that." He said turning to the front of the room.

* * *

"I'm glad we all have second period off, it gives us a chance to talk about the band." Summer said as she and Clark sat with Chiaki in his empty classroom. "Your father appears to have made the decision that most benefits us."

"He was more than impressed with our performance than I had hoped. I don't think I've ever seen him smile that big before." He told them.

"Can you hear us ok Billy?" She asked, who was on video call on Clark's phone.

"Loud and clear," He said with the beach in the background. Billy moved out to California with his mom, but is still the band's stylist.

"Luckily all of our players are still ready and available should we be sprung with a surprise show. Michelle and Eleni are still in charge of managing all of the band's social media." She continued.

"Ms. Bliss has been made aware that we may be called away during the school year, so we just need to keep her informed and we won't face any punishment." Chiaki added.

"Just let me when you score a gig and I'll make the outfits. I'll need everyone's measurements before each show of course." Billy said over the phone.

"Ok, does anyone have anything they'd like to add?" Summer asked.

"Come say 'hi' when you can, it's beautiful out here." Billy said before blowing a kiss and hanging up.

"And on that note, I'm going to the library to wait out this period." Summer said standing up in her seat. "I can't wait to see what kind of shows we get to play in."

"You're telling me? I'm ecstatic." He said sitting back in his chair.

* * *

"I can't believe it," Zack said as he and Lawrence walked out of the cafeteria with their food.

"I know right? They totally jacked up the prices this year."

"No not that, look at the food." He told him.

"What about it?" Lawrence asked, looking down at the tray.

"It looks like food." Zack pointed out.

"Oh my God, you're right." He said, taking a second look as they approached the table with their friends. "Guys, the food, it looks like food!" He nearly cried.

"We noticed, but thanks sweetie." Tomika said to her boyfriend.

"Hey Zack, so how were classes without me?' Freddy asked.

"Well, I feel like I actually learned a few things, so there's that."

"Are you saying being near me is a distraction for you?' He asked pulling him closer in.

"Let's just say that when we're together, my thoughts aren't appropriate for school." Zack said in a seductive voice.

"I'm trying to eat over here." Gordon told them.

"Don't listen to him, continue." Katie told them, taking a bite out of her food and getting a questioning look from Frankie.

"Ok, no more flirting near Katie." Freddy said letting go of Zack.

"Agreed," He scooted away, yet they continued to hold hands under the table.

"You two aggressively cute together." Katie told them

"Thank you," Zack said.

"Jealous?" Freddy asked.

"Please, me and Frankie can be a much cuter couple without even trying."

"We can?" Frankie asked, turning towards her.

"Hey, don't roll me and Lawrence out of this. We can be pretty damn cute, right Lawrence?" She asked, Lawrence looked over with two corn-dogs in his mouth. "When we choose to be." She added.

"Well, I think there's only way to solve everyone challenging our position." Freddy said to Zack.

"I didn't say anything," Gordon said.

"Couple off?" Zack asked.

"Couple off." Freddy said with a nod.


	29. Couple Off

"Welcome, welcome, welcome everyone to the first ever couples off!" Chiaki said into a fake microphone.

"Who are you talking to?" Alicia asked sitting next to him.

"Everyone else left the school already, it's just us." Marco told him.

"At least I'm having fun here." He said to the teens on either side of him. "Besides, I'm trying to entertain our audience." All three of them looked over to Leonard sitting alone in a row of chairs set up behind their table in the quad facing the outdoor stage.

"Why am I not a judge?" Leonard asked.

"We needed an odd number and Summer said you're not aloud to." Alicia said, not bothering to turn around to face him.

"Ok, to explain to rules. Each boyfriend will be asked a question about their respective girlfriend. If they get three out of five questions correct, they'll move onto the next round. Of course, if you get three wrong, you're automatically out. Now, let's bring out the happy people!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, look at us we're so in love and not dead inside, get fucked all of you." Leonard mumbled to himself. All of the couples sat next to each other as Zack and the girls were given small white boards and dry-erase markers.

"Is everyone ready?" Chiaki asked. Freddy with Zack, Lawrence with Tomika, Summer with Clark, Katie with Frankie, and Gordon with Marta all nodded. "Alright, first question. We'll start with an easy one all of you should know, what is their favorite color?"

"I don't even have to guess." Freddy said first. "Zack likes periwinkle the most." Zack nodded excitedly. "That's why alot his underwear is that color."

"Freddy!" Zack yelled.

"Oops, was that out loud?" Freddy asked with a smirk.

"You're a weird kid Zack," Tomika said next to him.

"Lawrence, do you have a guess for what Tomika wrote down?" Chiaki asked.

"Uh, I think it's orange isn't it?" He said slowly. Tomike turned her board around that did indeede say orange. "Yes!"

"Nice job," She told him kissing him on the cheek.

"Gordon, you're up next." Chiaki told him.

"No issue, she loves green." He said, confidently.

"It's purple Gordon." She said, showing him what she wrote.

"What?"

"Alicia likes green."

"What?! I thought you two had the same favorite color." He said with his voice cracking.

"Do you think we share a brain or something?" She asked, getting irritated.

"Um, no?" He said confused. "Can I get a new partner that won't kill me?" He asked the judges who stared back blankly.

"Frankie, what'cha got?" Chiaki asked, moving on.

"You like so many colors though." He said to Katie. "Is it...blue?" He asked with uncertainty. She turned her board around which read "cyan." "Does that count?" He asked the judges. Chiaki, Alicia and Marco whispered amongst each other.

"We'll allow it," Alicia told him.

"Clark, you're up." Chiaki moved on.

"The lovely Summer appreciates the color grey for its simplicity and not fully committing to being associated with the dark or the light." He explained.

"Alright, moving onto question two." Alicia announced. "When is their birthday?"

"March 25th, I remember because Taylor tried to break us up that day." Freddy told everyone.

"Funny thinking she could compete with all this." Zack said gesturing to himself.

"Lawrence, Tomika's birthday?"

"It's either October 23rd or 25th. I can never remember." He said.

"It's the 25th, sweetie." She told him.

"You realize that given him the answer before he makes a guess makes you miss the point right?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, woops." Tomika said.

"Next up, Gordon."

"January 15th if I remember correctly." He said looking at her. She turned her board around while nodding. "See, I'm not completely brain dead." He told her.

"Yeah, you're right." She said with a blush.

"My turn?" Frankie asked. "Katie's birthday is May 3rd right?"

"Bingo," She said spinning her board around.

"Next up, Clark." Alicia said.

"I don't believe you've told me yet Summer." He said turning to her.

"I'll give you a hint, it's not during summer." She told him.

"February 23rd?" He guessed.

"Incorrect," She said, showing her board with the date December 25th written on it.

"You're birthday is on Christmas?" He asked, surprised.

"Explains alot doesn't it?" Leonard shouted from the "audience."

"No one asked you." She said back to him.

"Next up everyone. What is their favorite number between one and twelve?" Marco asked.

"This is why we shouldn't have let him choose one of the questions." Alicia told Chiaki.

"I realize this now." He responded.

"Three point eight five." Freddy said without hesitation.

"How'd you know?" Zack asked, showing what he wrote.

"No seriously, how'd he know?" Tomika asked. "And why is it so specific?"

"Lawrence, you're up."

"I know this one. You like four because you're your parent's fourth child."

"Yep."

"Gordon, you got this buddy?" Marco asked.

"I hope so. Is it two?" He asked. "I literally am basing that off nothing."

"Well, you're right." Marta told him.

"Yes!"

"You're up Frankie."

"I'm gonna go with seven?"

"Eight!" She flipped her board. "Seven can't be symmetrical no matter how you cut it!"

"I guess that's a reason to hate it." He said to her. "Not one that makes sense, but whatever." He added under his breath.

"And Clark?"

"The number one, of course."

"He's right."

"Fourth question, what is their favorite song?" Alicia asked

"I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me." Freddy sang.

"And I can't get enough of you baby, can you get enough of me?" Zack finished.

"Does singing it count?" Freddy asked.

"Indeed it does." Alicia replied. "Lawrence?"

"Respect by Arethra Franklin right?"

"That'd be the one." She said turning her board around.

"Gordon, what do you got for us?" Alicia asked.

"Ok, it's either Pocketful of Sunshine or Look What You Made Me Do, right?"

"Can I answer that without loosing the point?" Marta asked her best friend.

"Sure,"

"It is one of those two." She confirmed.

"Ok, ok...um, Pocketful of Sunshine?"

"Good job," She said spinning the board around.

"Love is the Name by Sofia Carson." Frankie said before anyone took the time to ask.

"Babe, you remembered." She said hugging him.

"It's not you listen to it every day on the way to school or anything."

"Alright Clark, you know this one?"

"I don't think I do." He told them.

"I don't think I've told you yet. The answer is, I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany." Summer said while turning her board around.

"Alright, last question is everyone ready? Some of you are safe by now, some of you need this point to move on to the next round." Chiaki told the couples. "The fifth and final question is what was their childhood dream?"

"Zack always wanted to be magician." Freddy announced.

"I did, good times." Zack admitted.

"Tomika, you said you wanted to be a hairdresser right?" Lawrence asked.

"For a little bit, yeah." She told everyone.

"Marta, you wanted to be a model right?" Gordon asked, turning to her.

"Pop star, but nice try."

"Katie wanted to manage the hotel her uncle owns." Frankie told everyone.

"Still do," She said.

"Miss Summer, did you always want to manage the band?" Clark asked.

"I actually wanted to be the president." Summer admitted quietly.

"That makes sense."

"Alright everyone, that's it. Round one is over." Chiaki announced. "Let's tally up the scores shall we? Zack and Freddy, you guys got all five points." Zack and Freddy hugged each other. "Tomika and Lawrence, you guys scored four points."

"Nice job Larry."

"Katie, you and Frankie also scored four points."

"We did it!" Katie exclaimed as Frankie picked her up and spun her.

"Marta and Gordon, you manage to just barely get three points."

"Sweet!" Gordon said fist pumping.

"Summer and Clark, you only managed to score two points, meaning you don't have enough to move on to round two."

"Well, we tried." Clark shrugged.

"Next time, we'll show them." Summer said as the two left the stage.

* * *

"Alright, for the next round, all the remaining couples will sing a duet and if two out of three judges approve or your performance, you'll move onto the third and final round." Alicia told the remaining couples.

"We'll go in reverse order from before. Frankie, you and Katie will be up first." Marco said. "Everyone, go get ready."

After ten minutes of preparation, all the contestants had picked a song and Frankie and Katie were up first.

Frankie: _What I like about you_

Katie: _You hold me tight, m-hm_

F: _Oh tell me I'm the only one_

K: _Gonna come over tonight, yea_

Both: _Keep on whispering in my ear_

 _Tell me all the things that I wanna hear_

K: _Cause it's true_

F: _That's what I like about you_

B: _Yea, yea, hey!_

 _(Frankie harmonica solo)_

K: _You know it's true_

F: _That's what I like about you_

B: _HEY!_

Summer, Clark and Leonard clapped as the three judges talked amongst themselves. Marco and Alicia gave them thumbs up, Chiaki however, did not approve.

"What was the problem?" Katie asked.

"You didn't sing the full song. Next!" Gordon and Marta came out on stage ready to go.

Marta: _Do you like the freckles on my face_

 _Do you like my teeth they're out of place_

 _I'd like to think so_

Gordon: _Do you like the funny way I speak_

 _I don't clean my room for weeks and weeks_

 _I'd like to think so_

M: _Do ya do ya do ya love me?_

 _Do ya do ya do ya love me?_

 _I, I'd like to think so_

G: _Do ya do ya do ya love me_

 _Do ya do ya do ya love me anyway_

 _I'd like to think so_

M: _I'd like to think so_

Both: _I'd like to think so_

They concluded their number as the audience applauded. Alicia approved of them, however, the other two did not.

"I refuse to say yes to anyone that doesn't sing the entirety of the song they chose." Chiaki crossed his arms.

"I would've said yes, but this is the first time I've heard you sing Gordon and...yeah not a fan." Marco told them.

"Thanks bro," Gordon said he and Marta left the stage.

"Next up, Tomika and Lawrence" They took their places, Lawrence's in a chair.

Tomika: _Na na na, come on_

 _Na na na, come on_

 _Na na na, na na come on_

 _Na na na, come on, come on_

 _Come on, na na-na na come on_

 _Na na na, come on_

 _Na na na, na na, come on_

 _Na na na, come on, come on_

 _Come on, na na na na_

 _Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it_

 _Sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it_

 _Sticks and stones may break my bones_

 _But chains and whips excite me_

 _Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it_

 _Sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it_

 _Sticks and stones may break my bones_

 _But chains and whips excite me_

"Stop!" Chiaki said. "Lawrence do you actually sing at any point?" Lawrence shook his head. "Next!"

"Alright, Zack and Freddy, if you guys don't win at least two of our votes, Frankie and Katie win without a third round."

"Don't worry, we go this one, don't we Babe?" Freddy asked, looking at Zack.

"Oh we do. Hit it!" Zack said as the music started.

Freddy: _I can show you the world_

 _Shining, shimmering splendid_

 _Tell me, princess, now when did_

 _You last let your heart decide?_

 _I can open your eyes_

 _Take you wonder by wonder_

 _Over sideways and under_

 _On a magic carpet ride_

 _A whole new world_

 _A new fantastic point of view_

 _No one to tell us no_

 _Or where to go_

 _Or say we're only dreaming_

Zack: _A whole new world_

 _A dazzling place I never knew_

 _But when I'm way up here_

 _It's crystal clear_

 _That now I'm in a whole new world with you._

F: _Now I'm in a whole new world with you_

Z: _Unbelievable sights_

 _Indescribable feeling_

 _Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling_

 _Through an endless diamond sky_

 _A whole new world_

F: _Don't you dare close your eyes_

Z: _A hundred thousand things to see_

F: _Hold your breath, it gets better_

Z: _I'm like a shooting star_

 _I've come so far_

 _I can't go back to where I used to be_

F: _A whole new world_

Z: _Every turn a surprise_

F: _With new horizons to pursue_

Z: _Every moment, red-letter_

Both: _I'll chase them anywhere_

 _There's time to spare_

 _Let me share this whole new world with you_

F: _A whole new world_

Z: _A whole new world_

F: _That's where we'll be_

Z: _That's where we'll be_

F: _A thrilling chase_

Z: _A wondrous place_

B: _For you and me_

They finished their song and everyone started to clap with all three of the judges approving of their performance. "All right then, it looks like round three will be between Zack and Freddy, and Katie and Frankie." Chiaki announced.

"May the cutest couple win." Katie told the two on stage.

"Don't worry, we will." Freddy said back with a smug look on his face.

* * *

"Alright, Zack and Katie, can you see anything?" Alicia asked the two as they both sat on the stage blindfolded.

"Nope," Katie responded.

"Nothing but my regrets." Zack added.

"The rules are simple," Chiaki began. "You will be kissed by both of the remaining boyfriends. You will then have to decide based on that kiss alone which one is **your** boyfriend. Simply stand up and kiss whichever one you choose. Everyone ready?" The both nodded. "Katie you're up first."

Katie sat in her chair as she felt someone else's breath close to her and she opened her mouth and felt a rough kiss be placed on her lips. She kissed back and felt a more gentle pair of lips soon take their place. This one felt more caring, more warm. She stood up and kissed back.

"Is that your choice?" Chiaki asked.

"Yes, this has to be my Frankie." She responded.

"Take off your blindfold." Katie removed her blindfold and felt horrified when she saw it was Freddy standing in front of her. She began to scream and was spitting on the ground while Freddy and Frankie were laughing uncontrollably.

"At least buy me a drink first Kate," Freddy said in between breaths.

"Shut up! This never happened!" She cried.

"I wish someone got that on camera. The look on your face when you saw me was priceless!"

"Alright Zack, if you manage to tell which kiss is Freddy, you'll both win. If not, we'll have to go to our tie-breaker." Chiaki told him.

"I'll get it right. This has gone on long enough." Zack told him. Freddy and Frankie calmed down so Zack couldn't hear their laughter and walked over to be on either side of him. Freddy went in first, kissing his blind folded boyfriend who willingly kissed back and stood up. "I don't even need Frankie to kiss me." He said, taking his blindfold off before he went back to kissing Freddy as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"It's over! Zack and Freddy, the bands cutest couple!"

"Wow, it's the two that have crushing on each other since they were six. What a surprise." Katie said sarcastically.

"Someone's being a sore loser," Zack muttered.

"Want me to make it better with a kiss?" Freddy asked.

"You got a death wish?" She asked.

"Oh my God, I won!" Gordon yelled, jumping out of his seat.

"No, we lost Cupcake," Marta told him.

"No, not the stupid contest. I just won a weekend get-away to a murder mansion!" Everyone sat in silence. "C'mon, you're telling me none of you have heard of a murder mansion? It's like an escape room mixed with a role playing game. A group of people are brought together in a mansion for the weekend, and one of the contestants plays the role of a killer. It's up to everyone else to find out who the killer is and stop them before they take out everyone else. I can bring as many people as I want. Who wants to go?" No one responded and some of the tried to look away. "All of you? Really? That's great. You can bring your siblings to."

"Did we just let Gordon make us go to something?" Summer asked.

"I mean, everyone else in the band has, might as well give him a turn." Chiaki pointed out.

"When do I get to make all of you go to something?" Clark asked them.

"You got to be with us a little longer before you can decide of field trips." Summer told him.

* * *

 _ **Wow, long chapter, I'm impressed with myself honestly. I'll see y'all later as I plan to do a Halloween chapter for all three of my main stories. Goodbye for now**_


	30. Murder Mansion

"A bit on the nose isn't it?" Summer asked, looking up at the mansion she and the band would be spending the weekend. She and Clark were the first arrive. She could've brought her baby brother Joey, but since he was only one year old, she didn't want to bother having to watching him while trying to solve a fake murder.

"Yes, I agree. A little too obvious." Clark responded. "In fact, I believe this is the mansion used for The Haunting."

"The original or remake?" She asked.

"Does it matter? Let's go in!" The turned and saw Bart run ahead of Freddy.

"Get your ass back here!" Freddy said running after his little brother.

"Oh boy, Bart's here. I'm excited." Summer said sarcastically walking inside.

"Wow, this place is nice than our whole neighborhood." Tomika stepping out of her car with Lawrence and her three older brothers, Tyrone, T.J., and Taylor.

"Shit, why is it so far out of town?" Tyrone asked.

"That's the idea idiot," T.J. said slapping him on the back.

"I've lived in Austin my entire life. How have I never seen this place?" Taylor asked.

"You got everything Lawrence?' Tomika turned back to the car where Lawrence was carrying all of their stuff.

"Did you guys have to bring so much stuff? We're only here for the weekend. And why am I carrying everything again?" He asked, struggling to hold onto everything.

"Cause you're dating Tomika and are trying to impress her." Tyrone told him.

"Oh yeah,"

"Race you in," T.J. says to Tyrone before running in.

* * *

Everyone else arrived one at a time and each headed inside, with Zack showing up last since he needed to wait for Ashton to fly back in.

"Is everyone here?" Chiaki asked Summer.

"Everyone from our group at least, I'm not sure if anyone else is going to be here this weekend but-"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the drummer with the heart of gold and a brain full of oatmeal." Freddy turned around and saw his least favorite ex walk in, with her friend/henchwoman and what looks like a new boyfriend.

"Oh Jesus, not you!" Freddy moaned.

"Hey Freddy," She said reaching out to touch him.

"Don't," He said before she could. "Taylor, why are you here?" He asked.

"I won, so I brought Marcy and my new boyfriend, Kevin." Kevin had a pale complexion with dark brown, curly hair and had a toothpick in his mouth.

"You're her new boyfriend?" Freddy asked.

"Yeah, she's great isn't she?" He asked.

"You're a strange guy, my pity is with you." Freddy told him.

"F-Freddy," Zack said in a shaky voice, grabbing his boyfriend's arm.

"What's up Zack-oh shit." Freddy got quiet when he also noticed Justin walk in. Freddy stepped in front of Zack and glared at him. Justin looked away before he walked to the other said of the big open room.

"Esme?" Lawrence asked seeing the girl he had a crush on last year show up.

"Larry? Um, hey." She said.

"He's mine now, thanks." Tomika said grabbing onto Lawrence and pulling him away.

Kale also arrived before the doors slammed shut and the phone inside started ringing. Everyone looked at each other before Chiaki walked up. "I guess I need to be the adult here." He picked up the phone and heard a voice on the other end tell him to put them on speaker.

"Can everyone hear me?" The voice asked. Everyone said that they could before they continued. "Welcome everyone to The Murder Mansion. All of you here are in grave danger. Amongst you right now, is a killer, you know who you are. The rest of you have until dawn tomorrow to find who it is. Those of you left alive when the killer is discovered and captured will win. However, if the killer manages to get all of you, then they will be the victor in this game. Good luck everyone." They finished before hanging up.

"This is going to be awesome!" Gordon exclaimed.

* * *

"Why does Justin have to be here?" Zack asked Freddy as they were walking through the mansion.

"Guess they'll let anyone win these things. Don't worry though, I'm not gonna let him come anywhere near you ok?"

"Thanks Babe. I'll try not to let him scare me this time."

"What if he's the killer?"

"You're giving him too much credit." Zack said with a laugh.

* * *

"Well, looks like we're going to have dust for dinner. Unless you don't mind things that look like they expired back in the 70's." Katie told Frankie as they were going through the kitchen.

"I think Tomika's brother brought overnight snacks." He told her.

"Tyrone or T.J.?"

"I don't know, the taller one."

* * *

"Hell yes," Gordon said looking out the window.

"What is it?" Marta asked.

"Sun's going down. It's starting soon."

"You'd tell me if you're the murderer right?" She asked nervously.

"Nah, it's against the rules. But I'd spare you." He told her.

"Well then, I hope it's you."

* * *

Lawrence was still in the entryway playing on the piano. "You're pretty good on that." He turned his head and saw Esme walking down the stairs.

"Thanks, you should've come seen me in a show while we were dating. Then again, we only went on one date, but I guess not even that huh?" He asked rhetorically.

"Look Larry I-"

"My friends call me Larry. You can call my Lawrence." He said before leaving the room.

* * *

"I have no internet connection whatsoever." Marco said aggressively typing onto his laptop.

"Well yeah, it'd be too easy. You'd probably be able to hack into their emails and find the murderer in three minutes." Alicia told him.

"See? You already know what plan was. Even if I couldn't, I was hoping to get some work done while we were here."

"I think staying alive is what our work is. Since neither of us got the 'you're the murderer' email. Besides, you're the smartest one here. You're the best bet we have at figuring out who the killer is."

"You're right. I should go around and find out the most about the other people here outside of our class."

"Do it fast. It's practically dusk." She pointed out.

* * *

Bart was roaming the halls spray painting some of the house to give a little color when Taylor turned around the corner. "Hey Bart!" She said running over to him with a **huge** fake smile on her face. "Do you remember me?"

"Sadly," He replied.

"Cute as ever. Listen, I'm getting back with Freddy." She said, dropping the happy voice.

"And I can fly."

"Come on Bart, you know him and Zack aren't going to last."

"Already been together longer than you were."

"What does he have that I don't?"

"You mean besides a decent personality?"

"Ok, how much is it going to take for you to help me?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Freddy's a bummer without Zack. Why the Hell would I help you?"

"Isn't there anything I could do for you?" She asked, undoing one of the buttons on her top. Bart removed the gum he was chewing and stuck it in her hair before he left. "I'm really glad no one was around to see that."

* * *

"Taylor, I was wondering-" Tomika stopped when she looked inside the room her brothers had chosen to stay in when she noticed it was completely empty. "Taylor? You in here?" She looked around, but the room seemed untouched. "That's strange,"

"What's up?" Lawrence asked walking in.

"Taylor said he was going to go up to his room until the game started, but he isn't here." She explained.

"Maybe he got lost?" He suggested.

"Well no, his stuff's here." She said picking up his backpack. "It looks like he just dropped it here and took off."

"Have you tried calling him?"

"Duh," She said to herself, pulling out her phone to call him. "Damn, no signal." She said.

"No signal is right." They turned towards the door to see Marco there. "They've cut us off. I wasn't able to hack to the sight to find out who got cast as the murderer. Anyway, you said your brother's missing?" He asked.

"Yeah, come to think of it, I haven't seen any of them since we got inside."

"You guys should go talk to Katie and Frankie. They went to go talk to T.J. and Tyrone about snacks I think." Zack said as he and Freddy passed by the door.

"Did they now?" Marco asked.

* * *

Marco walked down the stairs to find where Katie and Frankie were, but they were no longer in the kitchen. "I thought you said they were down here." He said to Zack.

"They were, but they left to get snacks remember?"

"Right,"

"You're not good at this." Alicia told him.

"People are disappearing already?" Taylor said as she entered the room. "Hold me Freddy!" She cried running over into his arms.

"Can you go disappear too?" He said annoyed. Justin walked in and everyone grew quiet.

"Zack," He started. Freddy stepped in between them. "I can't find your brother."

"Ok, we need to split up into groups to go find who's left. Because whoever the killer is, they're working fast." Marco told everyone.

"I need to go find Bart." Freddy said.

"I'll go with you." Taylor and Zack said at once.

"Um, he's my boyfriend." Zack reminded her.

"How many times do I have to say it? He's just using you for his little phase." She said smugly.

"Taylor, it's not a phase. I'm gay and I love Zack." He said to her.

"Neither of you are going with Freddy." Marco told them. "You'd both be flirting with him too much making you guys a perfect target. Sexually active teens are pretty much doomed."

"I'll go with Freddy." Alicia said stepping up.

"Fine. I need to go find Marcy anyways." Taylor said flipping her hair and walking off.

"I might as well go with her." Marco said following after her. Zack looked over and saw Justin was the only one left.

"Zack," Freddy started.

"It's fine." He told his boyfriend before kissing him on the cheek and walking over to his attempted rapist. "Ten passes behind me."

"Two."

"Seven."

"Five."

"Deal." Zack said walking passed him. Justin waited for a second before he turned and followed after the younger boy.

* * *

"Summer! Summer!" Clark called walking through the third floor hallway. "Where'd you go?" From behind, a hand reached out from the darkness and grasped his shoulder. He jumped in surprise and spun around to see who it was and a brunette girl with thick glasses.

"Have you seen Taylor?" She asked.

"Taylor? Taylor Earhardt?"

"I'm her best friend Marcy, but she left to go find Freddy. I thought she'd be right back, but that was over an hour ago."

"Well, I'm looking for Summer. She's my boss. And my girlfriend I think."

"Have you seen anyone else?" Marcy asked.

"I just saw Gordon and Marta sneaking around not too long ago." He told her.

"Is that so?" She asked, with interest in her voice.

"Rrrrr!" They both heard a groan from down the hall as man wearing a hockey mask and carrying a machete emerged from the darkness. They both scream and were about to run when Clark recognized the clothes he was wearing.

"Mr. Tani?" Chiaki pulled the mask off and smile slightly.

"Hey, how ya doing?"

"What's with the mask and giant knife?"

"It's called a machete, at least I think that's how it's pronounced. Oh right, the mask. I'm gonna out psycho the killer." He explained.

"What?" Marcy asked.

"Do you think anyone's going to approach the growling man with the deadly weapon?"

"I guess not." Clark admitted.

"Good, now you both excuse me," He said lowering his mask while walking past them. "Come on out! Be prepared to eat cold steel!"

"I don't know who to be more afraid of." Clark said as he and Marcy watched the teacher walk down the hall.

* * *

"Why are we outside?" Marta asked as her and Gordon climbed the outside of the building.

"We'll be able to keep a better watch on things from out here. Besides, they lock all the doors. There's no way for the killed to even be out here. We're safer than anyone inside this place." He told her.

"Ok, I'm trusting you." She said with hesitation in her voice.

* * *

"Bart! Bart! Come on dude, this isn't funny." Freddy called out.

"Freddy, I don't think yelling is the best idea." Alicia said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't care. Bart's all alone, I need to find him." Freddy said with haste.

"I get that, but if you yell, you might attract-"

"Hello there children." They heard a voice from behind them say. The mysterious man was wearing a skull mask and had overalls with black latex gloves.

"That. Exactly that." She finished before the both began to run at top speed away.

* * *

"You can pick a lock?" Justin asked Zack as they stood at the bottom of the stairs in front of the door to the basement.

"Freddy taught me." He responded.

"Why are we checking the basement?"

"It's the best place to hide our friend's wouldn't you say?"

"Well yeah, or you're leading me down here to kill me and hide my body." Justin suggested.

"The thought had crossed my mind." Zack admitted as he finished the lock and opened the door. "After you."

"You really good at holding a grudge aren't you?" Justin asked walking past the younger boy and descending down.

"I usually let things go pretty easily, but when someone tries to hold me down and force themselves on me, I'm gonna hold onto that."

"I just wanted a little action that night. Don't know what your problem was." Justin said with a laugh.

"Are you unclear on the concept of 'no?'" Zack asked, really starting to get annoyed.

"You're fifteen. Do you really think you know what you want?"

"I know I didn't want a dick in my ass at the time."

"Shh," Justin said harshly. "Did you hear that?"

"No, we're not done here Justin. That night crippled me emotionally. It was months before I could honestly say that I was ok. Just seeing Freddy with his shirt off would start to cause a panic attack. I would dissociate in the middle of talking to someone and after I tuned back in, I was completely numb to the world. I couldn't feel anything. Do you know why? It's because of you! Because of what you did to me! Did you even care? We used to be friends, but that night, I guess I was just a piece of meat to you huh? Nothing that happened to me would've affected you, so what was the damage I guess."

"Are you done?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, I'm done." Zack said after taking a deep breath.

"Feel better?"

"So much better." He told him.

"Good, because I can hear our voices echoing on the other side of this wall and thought you'd be interested." He said pointing the the wall on his right, Zack's left.

"What?" Zack put his hand against the wall. "It's paper." He stated. Before tearing through and seeing a long, dark hall filled with bird cages and cabinets covered in cobwebs.

"You go first Zack." Justin said from behind him.

* * *

"What are we looking for again?" Marco asked.

"Marcy. Since none of you are likely to help me get Freddy back, I need to go find my only real friend." Taylor told him as she marched through the mansion. "You don't have to keep following me."

"Have you ever seen a horror movie?"

"No,"

"Well, rule number one, never go off on your own."

"Alright, I guess I'll let you stay near me if it makes you feel safe." She said with a said.

"That's not-you know what you're right, that's why I'm still with you."

* * *

"I really don't like this." Zack said as he lead the way through the hidden part of the basement. "Why did I think this was a good idea?"

"You're asking the wrong person." Justin told him.

"My dad would have a heart attack if he saw this much dust." Zack said, placing a hand on one of the cabinets.

"Look out!" Justin said pulling him back as one of the bird cages fell and landed right where Zack was standing.

"Thanks." Zack realized that he was leaning into Justin's arms a little too much. "Can you let go now?"

"Right, sorry."

"Let's keep going. I'm sure their down here." Zack said moving on ahead.

* * *

"I want you to know you chose the most cliche of hiding places." Freddy said to Alicia inside of a closet.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't take us to the Bahamas of hiding places." She snapped back.

"Do you think he's gone?"

"Well if not, he's definitely heard us by now." Freddy poked his head out and looked around the room.

"Coast is clear." He said to her as he stepped out.

"Listen Freddy, I promise you that we're going to find Bart."

"I know, I just hope it's soon."

* * *

"Clark!" Marco said as he and Taylor found him looking into a room. "Where's summer?"

"I'm looking for her too. I left her alone for only a minute, but she's disappeared."

"Have you seen Marcy? I need to talk to her." Taylor asked stepping in front. "Glasses? Short hair?" Clark pointed into the room next to them where Marcy was looking as something close to the doorway. "Marcy, there you are. Listen, we need to think of a way to win Freddy over. If I remember correctly, he's always been a fan of-"

"Sir, look as this." She said holding up a toothpick.

"A toothpick, so what?"

"Didn't Kevin like having these around?"

"So what? I was just using him to make Freddy jealous. You knew that." Before anyone had a chance to say anything the man that chased Freddy and Alicia before emerged from the closet.

"I'm so glad to see so many of you together in one place."

"Ok, I have a plan." Marco calmly before sprinting out of the room with the other three right behind him. When he turned his head back to look, the killed was still hot on their trail. They made their way down the stairs when they heard a voice yell.

"Now!" Right as the killer reached the bottom of the stairs, he stepped into a loop tied at the end of the rope which was pulled, lifting him upward into the air.

"Got him!" Chiaki said as he tied his end of the rope to the banister.

"Told you it'd work." Bart said from the other side of the big entryway.

"Ok, you were right."

"Bart!" Freddy yelled from the stop of the stairs with Alicia behind him. He ran down and lifted his brother up into the air. "I was so worried about you. If you ever do that again, **I'll** be the one killing you."

"Missed you too."

"Freddy!" Zack yelled as he emerged from the basement.

"My baby!' Freddy yelled as they ran to each other.

"Look who we found." Justin said, with all of their missing friends.

"Summer!" Clark jumped, seeing her.

"My hero," She said rolling her eyes.

"So, do you think it's Gordon or Marta?" Marco asked Alicia as they came back together.

"Neither!" Gordon said kicking in the door with Marta at his side.

"Where the Hell have you been?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, coming here was your idea." Frankie agreed.

"We went outside," Gordon started.

"So we could see everything happen," Marta continued.

"And solve the mystery without being interrupted."

"So who is it? Everyone's here." Zack asked doing a quick head count.

"We had a few guesses before figuring it out." Gordon told them.

"We thought it might have been one of Tomika's brother's since they disappeared right away." Marta continued finishing each other's sentences.

"Summer was also a suspect of our's. Being the fastest to just vanish and seeing that Chiaki took on a psycho persona as well."

"But what gave it away was the killer chose to chase after Freddy first."

"And then, he jumped out once Taylor mentioned that Kevin was only brought to try to make Freddy jealous."

"Everyone, say hello to Kevin." Marta said removing the mask.

"I forgot he was even here." Lawrence admitted.

"Kevin got the email saying he was assigned as the killer and used that as an excuse to go after Freddy in an attempt to make Taylor forget about him." Gordon explained.

"But when he heard her say she was just trying to make Freddy jealous, that was too much and he tried to take out the remaining players." Marta finished.

"Yeah, that's right. And I would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your teacher." Kevin told them.

"Congratulations!" A man's voice boomed from the doorway.

"It's the president!" Gordon said excitedly while shaking Marta.

"I guessed." She told him.

"Gordon, Marta, watching everything outside was a clever move."

"He said my name!"

"Chiaki, Bart, I'm impressed that the two of you managed to catch him."

"When you're a troublemaker determined to win and a highschool teacher, you pretty much have all the skills you need to catch a guy."

"It's my pleasure to declare the four of you our winners! Kevin, you tried hard, but these kids were just too good. This time." He began to laugh maniacally when the lights went out. When they turned back on, he was gone. Then, the sun began to come out.

"Sunrise, time for bed." Chiaki yawned as he and many of the others walked back upstairs where all the rooms are.

"Freddy, you go ahead. I'll catch up." Zack told his boyfriend. He walked over to Justin tugged on his arm.

"What's up?"

"I don't forgive you. I don't think I can ever forgive you." Zack told him.

"Um, thanks?"

"But," He kept going. "I think tonight, I learned that I can begin to trust you at times." He said with a small smile.

"Good to know. Now go back to who you're meant to be with." Zack nodded and ran to catch up to Freddy.

* * *

 _ **Well, there you are. I am very sorry for how long this chapter took, but I should be updating my BillyxMax fanfic soon for those who're keeping up with that story. Until whenever that is, by y'all**_


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